WASHINGTON — Doctors and nurses say social media including Facebook and Twitter are among their new professional tools.

More than two-thirds of physicians told surveyors in 2011 that they were utilizing some form of social media “for professional purposes,” and likely that number has grown.

Alan Neuhauser, who published a piece in U.S. News & World report recently on the subject, said social media is used in varying ways, and it’s helped to save time, and perhaps even lives.

“(Social media) lets (doctors and nurses) share articles and videos with a number of patients at once, it lets them monitor Twitter during big events like big games,” Neuhauser told WTOP. For example, Twitter was critical to trauma teams as they awaited victims of the Boston Marathon bombing to local hospitals in 2013.

In his article, Neuhauser also talks about doctors and nurses creating their own professional Facebook pages and Twitter accounts to invite patients to weigh in and communicate. Aside from sharing information to a wider group with videos and links, they are also able to monitor the well-being of their patients on a regular basis. This has helped particularly with veterans who might not be so comfortable coming forward and asking for help.

“They have come across (Facebook) posts that let them know, that maybe a guy is having a tough day because maybe it is an anniversary of a tough event,” Neuhauser pointed out. Doctors and nurses can take a more proactive role in their care as a result. The nurses he spoke to for his story say they prevented at least 12 suicides by reaching out to vets after reading their cries for help online.

As with all such technology, there are privacy concerns. While hospitals are still wary with the professional use of Facebook and Twitter, medical schools are beginning to issue guidelines, rather than prohibitions, for their use.

WTOP Reporter Dick Uliano contributed to this report

Follow @WTOP on Twitter and on the WTOP Facebook page.