From large urban research hospitals to small private practices‚ medical professionals from all sectors are recognizing the power of social media to assist them in the brand building that results in successful acquisition of new patients, practice growth and patient communication.

From the live Twitter coverage of a father-son kidney transplant to get more organ donors according to Betsy MacKay, vice president of public affairs for Children Medical Center in Dallas as reported by The Dallas Business Journal to the success of Mayo Clinic experts podcasting about health issues and gaining approximately 76,000 subscribers in one month according to the Jacksonville Business Journal ‚ there is no doubt that social media is becoming more and more important to success in the medical field.

AMN Healthcare, the largest US healthcare staffing agency, notes that Westfield Memorial Hospital, a small community hospital located in Westfield, N.Y. incorporated Facebook and Twitter into the full-scale public relations campaign for the public and political support that would help save the hospital’s emergency department. Vice President of Operations Karen Surkala noted that social media “was one way to get the word out to a great number of people without a great deal of expense” to Debra Wood, RN.

Just under 10% of hospitals nationwide are using these digital tools…in the next five years, all hospitals will be doing social networking.

To track the growth of social media adoption in the medical field, Edward Bennett maintains a Hospital Social Media List. As of January 10, 2010 he was able to identify 540 Hospitals using social media with:

• 247 YouTube Channels
• 316 Facebook pages
• 419 Twitter Accounts
• 67 Blogs
• Increased adoption of social media in the medical field makes social something that healthcare professionals need to consider in 2010.

“Just under 10% of hospitals nationwide are using these digital tools, representing the first wave of health care techno-hounds–the so-called early adopters”, says Bennett. “From here, we’ll see a slow growth while more conservative hospital organizations decide to use it. But I do expect this trend to keep growing.” He wagers in the next five years, all hospitals will be doing social networking.

Patients are embracing social media as a part of their approach to healthcare according to Ihealthbeat, a free, daily news digest reporting on technology’s impact on health care. Physicians are connecting to each other and promoting their practices to their peers on MedScape, a social network exclusively for physicians. Practitioners are using social media to increase their influence and showcase their knowledge.