Mayo Clinic launches its own social networking site

Touting it as the first of its kind, Mayo Clinic last week launched its own version of a free, open social networking community.

In 2010, Mayo launched Center for Social Media to boost engagement between medical professionals and health systems, according to a Minnesota Public Radio article. The newest social networking site promises to be unlike other existing medical group or hospital online communities.

"We're not aware of other online communities like this created by a medical provider group or hospital system," states the Mayo Clinic blog.

With Mayo's 500,000 patients and 50,000 employees and students around the world, the social community is aimed at "connect[ing] patients with each other and with others interested in learning more about Mayo Clinic or a particular health interest," according to the website. It includes discussions, news articles, Mayo Clinic blog posts, and videos.

"We're pleased to now be taking the next step, creating an online site to connect the global Mayo Clinic community," states the blog. "When you're facing a health concern, sometimes, what you really need is someone who has already been there. That's what this community is all about: connecting people who have been through the Mayo Clinic experience with others facing a similar health concern."

The Mayo online community adds on to a growing list of Mayo's social media popularity. Mayo already has the most popular medical provider YouTube channel, about 200,000 Twitter followers, and 53,000 Facebook connections, according to the blog.