Facebook is looking into healthcare. Reuters reports that the social media site is “plotting its first steps into the fertile field of health care,” and that early efforts gravitate toward projects like creating online support communities among Facebook users that will connect people with similar conditions.
Reuters says the success of Facebook’s organ-donor status initiative has prodded the company to look at opportunities within the healthcare space—donor registrations jumped 21% after the site launched the 2012 project which allows users to post their donor status. Reuters says Facebook has also noticed that users with chronic conditions tend to look to social media sites, like PatientsLikeMe. Reuters says this type of engagement shows users are willing to trade some personal information in exchange for medical support.
