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Mayo Clinic Contest Spurs Research on Health Care Social Media Applications
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ROCHESTER, Minn. — July 10, 2012. The Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media today announced a research contest encouraging measurement and validation of the application of social media tools to improve health care, promote health and fight disease.
The contest, held in conjunction with the annual member meeting of Mayo's Social Media Health Network, Oct. 18–19, 2012, seeks submission of research-based abstracts and case studies demonstrating benefits of social media throughout the health care ecosystem.
"When Mayo Clinic's leaders established our Center for Social Media two years ago this month, they gave us a broad mandate to identify beneficial applications of social media in health care," says Farris Timimi, M.D.,
medical director for the center. "They also encouraged us to collaborate with others in health care to disseminate best practices through our Social Media Health Network. We hope this research-based contest and the scientific session at our member meeting will help catalyze measurement of social media interventions and sharing of findings."
The Social Media Health Network member meeting caps social media week at Mayo Clinic, which begins with Mayo's two-day Social Media Residency and includes its annual Social Media Summit, produced in collaboration with Ragan Communications. A panel will evaluate submissions for scientific merit, with qualified abstracts to be displayed and discussed in a poster session at the beginning of the member meeting.
Authors of the three highest-ranking abstracts will receive complimentary admission to both the summit and the member meeting and will present their findings orally at a plenary session.
Organizers have designated 15 categories for submissions, such as projects related to administrative efficiency, improving clinical practice, facilitating scientific research and clinical trials, staff engagement and public health. The contest rules and abstract submission form with a complete category list are available on the Center for Social Media website.
"We are excited to have reached this point where we can help demonstrate the practical benefits of social media in health care," says Dr. Timimi. "We believe bringing scientific rigor to the evaluation of social media interventions will encourage more widespread adoption of these tools in clinical practice, education and research."
Established in July 2010, the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media exists to lead the social media revolution in health care.
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About Mayo Clinic:
Recognizing 150 years of serving humanity in 2014, Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit 150years.mayoclinic.org, www.mayoclinic.org and newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org.
Media Contact: Lee Aase, 507-284-5005 (days), newsbureau@mayo.edu
