Healthcare meets social networking

The Mayo Clinic wasn't sure what to expect from social media when it gave it a test run four years ago, but it has come a long way in just a few years since adding a Facebook page with more than 3,000 friends, a YouTube channel with videos of doctors talking about illness, treatments and research, a health blog for consumers and another for media to improve the process of medical reporting. It's also creating "secret groups" on Facebook to connect patients to others with similar illnesses, an area it hopes to expand in the future. But that's just the tip of the iceberg in the brave new world of Health 2.0. as more providers use social software and its ability to promote collaboration between patients and the rest of the medical industry.