We’re excited to announce an educational collaboration between Hootsuite and Mayo Clinic to help healthcare professionals learn to use social media tools safely and effectively.

In the last few years, social media has found a prominent place in every industry, and healthcare is no exception. Social media can help promote health, educate people, advance science and connect healthcare providers with patients. In fact, more than 40 percent of consumers say that information found on social media affects the way they deal with their health. Another 41 percent of people said social media would affect their choice of a specific doctor, hospital or medical facility. And yet, only 26 percent of US hospitals participate in social media.

Mayo Clinic created its Center for Social Media (MCCSM) five years ago to train and equip its staff to use these tools, and started its Social Media Health Network (SMHN) to share resources with healthcare colleagues globally. Hootsuite has been a leader across industries in developing social media training content, particularly for communications and marketing professionals.

Through their new relationship, Hootsuite and Mayo Clinic are developing a course that specifically caters to the needs of healthcare professionals, in the hopes of empowering those in this industry to make use of the many social tools available to them.

“We’re excited that by working with Hootsuite we’re going to be offering an enhanced version of our basic healthcare social media training on demand and on a global scale,” says MCCSM Director Lee Aase. “It also will help us facilitate more advanced strategic application of social tools through our in-person courses.”

Mayo Clinic consistently ranks at or near the top of the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals Honor Roll, and is globally recognized as one of the top brands in the industry. Mayo’s SMHN includes marketing and communication leads and medical professionals from over 100 healthcare organizations who have joined together to learn and share best practices for applying social and digital tools.

If you work in or manage a healthcare organization and are interested in this social media education opportunity, contact us here for more information.