Is it because these new channels are seen as too lightweight and could possibly trivialize the serious mission of preventative and curative medicine? Although many healthcare facilities have reservations about “social” media – should a surgeon “tweet” about heart surgery in real time, for example – some experts say that hospitals can advance their communication goals through blogs, and some healthcare groups are using Facebook as a physician recruitment tool.

Twitter feed to respond to consumers. One of the latest tweets: “Protect yourself from the H1N1 flu virus--get the facts here.” Use of Web 2.0 tools is also gaining popularity in medical and nursing school curricula as well.

How are you using social media? For community building, real-time P.R., brand management? Check out this list of U.S. hospitals that use social networking tools and 140 healthcare uses for Twitter.