The Swedish Medical Center in Seattle has a social media coach who encourages doctors and investigators to take advantage of the Internet podium. The goal, she says, is to find those who have the time, aptitude and passion that lead to an online presence.
The coach is Dana Lewis, a self-motivated generator of online medical content. She was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes during her high school years and eventually started a weekly healthcare chat on Twitter. The Sunday night chat attracts thousands of participants, reports MyNorthwest.com, patients and doctors alike. Through chats that she ran during her college years, Lewis was "discovered" by Swedish's communications director, Melissa Tizon.
Social media represent a well-tailored means of connecting the growing numbers of people who seek medical information online with reliable information. Having a reputable organization guide patients and point them to reputable information is a big benefit, says long-time blogger Kevin Pho, a Boston area doctor found at kevinmd.com, in the article.
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