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We’re sure you’ve heard this one before – Social Media is not just for teenagers anymore.  In fact, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are turning out to be far more than mere entertainment tools.  Medical professionals are now applying it in the operating room.

Doctors around the country are using these social networking tools to keep the patients’ families in the loop of what is happening to their loved ones in the operating room.  In fact, some surgeons go as far as sharing step-by-step medical procedures.  This real-time updates allows the family members to feel involved, close to the action, and importantly, reduces their anxiety levels.  The alternative is family members sitting in the waiting room not knowing what is going on.  Importantly, it also raises the profile of the Hospital and of the surgeons and anesthesiologist.  (Earlier in the year CNN’s Rick Sanchez, tweeting his own surgery, describes the anesthesiologist’s preparation before she puts him to sleep!)

A recent article published in the Miami Herald lists a number of great examples of Social Media being applied in the operating room.  In February, for only the second known time, doctors at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, “tweeted” the entire operation of removing a kidney tumor.

Many see this as a natural progression of the rapid influence of technology in our lives and the impetus of the Social Media revolution.  This type of communication removes a huge barrier and helps a hospital engage its community in a transparent, helpful way.

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