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The New Science Of Social Networks Shows The Spread Of Weight And Happiness Among Friends

The people you live with, work with, talk to, email, chatter with on Twitter and Facebook—your social network—can be good medicine, or bad.

The intriguing new science of social networks is demonstrating how personal interconnections can affect our health. Ideas and habits that influence health for better or for worse can spread through social networks in much the same way that germs spread through communities. In social networks, though, transmission can happen even though the people may be hundreds of miles apart.

An article in the December issue of the Harvard Men’s Health Watch explores how social networks can affect weight and mood.

Spreading weight

A study of people taking part in the landmark Framingham Heart Study found that Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Harvard Health Blog*

How To Make Meaningful Use Of Social Media

I know this woman – a physician.  She spends a lot of time on Twitter.  She has a Tumblr presence but it’s sparse and not very memorable.  All day long she polishes her Twitter presence.  She’s everyone’s friend.  And to her credit she’s a wonderful curator.  We caught up recently and she wanted to know how she could bring herself to the next level.  Despite her time and investment in the latest real-time social tools she felt that her ideas didn’t get the traction that they deserved.

Here’s what I suggested:  Twitter works for interaction and dissemination.  But ultimately you have to create the stuff that defines you.  Retrievable text, video and audio is where your ideas will live.

It’s about content, not Klout.  You can share and engage, but it’s what you make that lasts.

*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*

Share Your Story: Has Social Media Improved Your Health Or Work In Medicine?

There is a new social campaign being launched right now on Webicina.com that curates the medical resources of social media in 80 topics in 18 languages:

We receive hundreds of suggestions from empowered patients and medical professionals every week about which social media resources should be included in our selections, and we thought we must find a way to let them know how much we appreciate their help.

So now we kindly ask you to tell us your story about how social media helped you improve your health management or helped you get better in your specialty in order to win grand prizes.

As we curate resources in basically all the social media platforms, you can tell your story in any platforms from Twitter and Facebook to blogs and Youtube. Your submissions will be Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*

BlogWorld Expo Features Social Media In Health Care

Social media has changed the landscape in health care.  Social media is a powerful and phenomenal platform to help educate consumers, raise awareness of health issues and connect with consumers and colleagues.

Social media gives a voice to patients and consumers and it allows the conversation to get started with doctors and other health care professionals.  Social media is all about the patient and it paves the way for new modern medicine to emerge.

Tapping into technology allows for the real-time and immediate exchange of information.

Consumers and physicians tapping into social media networking

According to a study published by Pew Internet and American Life Project, 65% of adult internet users use social networking sites and 80% of internet users gather health information online.

In a recent study by QuantiaMD and Care Continuum Alliance, over 65% of physicians Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*

Attendee And Speaker Summarizes The Mayo Clinic’s Health Care Social Media Summit

I’m back from my pilgrimage to Rochester, MN for the Third Annual Health Care Social Media Summit at the Mayo Clinic, presented by Ragan Communications.  I had a great time, and want to share the experience with you.  So please take a look at the archived #mayoragan tweets, my presentation on health care social media and the law, and my blog posts about the pre-conference and the summit itself posted at HealthWorks Collective.  Here are some excerpts:

Mayo Ragan Social Media Summit Pre-Conference:

A recurring theme in my hallway conversations [today] was that it is impossible to transplant a successful program from one location to another without taking into account myriad local conditions (social media program, heart transplant program – same problem).  As I always say to folks Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog*

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The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

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Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

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