Mayo Clinic Connect is an online community that connects people. In the About Connect blog, find out more about members, mentors and the community. Meet the Mayo Clinic moderators and learn how the community is managed. Review the community guidelines and learn how you can get the most from your Connect experience. Follow the About Connect blog to get updates about members and the community.

Public blog

About Connect

Mayo Clinic Connect is an online community, connecting patients and family caregivers with each other. You do not have to be a Mayo Clinic patient or caregiver to join the conversations. Community members share experiences, ask questions, find answers, give and get support and exchange vital information. Mayo Clinic values patient and caregiver knowledge and recognizes you as #ExpertsByExperience.

Mayo Clinic Connect is supported solely by Mayo Clinic. The information you share on Connect is not shared or sold to third parties or used to generate funding.

Keep in mind that Connect is a public forum. Read more about how to use Connect safely and protect your privacy.

How to Get Started

Follow a group, post a message and discover your network. Learn how you can get the most out of Connect in this step-by-step guide.

General Community Guidelines

Be respectful and kind. Disagreements are fine, but mutual respect is a must.
Realize that sarcasm and joking will often be misunderstood.
Be careful about giving out medical advice — sharing your own experience is fine, but don't tell other members what they should do.
Know that abusive or offensive behavior is not tolerated.
- Profanity, vulgarity and abusive language are out-of-bounds. Personal attacks against members or health care providers are not acceptable. Such posts will be removed.

See the complete Community Guidelines.

Support groups

Support groups are great places to interact with and learn from others. Get the most out of your experience in the discussion groups with these tips.

Help people find your topic. Discussions with specific titles will receive more responses and better participation.
Ask members of the community for their experience, advice or opinions.
Beware of telling other members how to behave in the community — it's better to share any concerns directly with the community moderators.

Learn about Why and How we Moderate and manage the community.

Your Profile and Account Settings

Tell others about you on your Profile. You can add your name, a photo and a short bio.

You can also set your preferences in your Account Settings to receive email notifications and activity digests; and change your password and email address. Learn how to set your notification preferences.

Discover more about Mayo Clinic Connect.