In its latest effort to gain users' trust, Facebook will allow patients who are members of "health support" groups to post questions and health-related information anonymously, Facebook announced April 30, according to CNBC.
More specifically, patients will be able to send questions and posts directly to administrators of the health-focused groups, which are often secret or closed. The administrator will then post questions on behalf of the patient.
Facebook aims to make patients feel more confident to post within the groups, CNBC reports. Often these health groups are sponsored or supported by drug companies, which Facebook has reportedly been increasingly looking to for advertising.
The social giant has had some missteps in the past with healthcare groups, including allowing marketers to harvest the information from private groups and deleting photos of breast cancer patients' mastectomies, according to CNBC.
However, these incidents have not stopped patients from coming to Facebook. Wego Health, a company that connects patients with healthcare companies, surveyed 400 patients and found that 98 percent still use Facebook and 94 percent are part of a health-related Facebook group, reports CNBC.
More articles about health IT:
VR video game detects Alzheimer's risk before symptoms occur
HHS announces 1st winning group of KidneyX Redesign Dialysis contest
KLAS: Epic, Cerner dominate EMR market share