Facebook already knows who your friends are and the kind of things that grab your attention. Soon, it could also know the state of your health.

On the heels of fellow Silicon Valley technology companies Apple and Google,Facebookis plotting its first steps into the fertile field of health care, said three people familiar with the matter. The people requested anonymity as the plans are still in development.

The company is exploring creating online "support communities" that would connectFacebookusers suffering from various ailments. A small team is also considering new preventive care applications that would help people improve their lifestyles.

In recent months, the sources said, the social networking giant has been holding meetings with medical industry experts and entrepreneurs, and is setting up a research and development unit to test new health apps.Facebookis still in the idea-gathering stage, the people said.

Health care has historically been an area of interest forFacebook, but it has taken a back seat to more pressing products.

Recently,Facebookexecutives have come to realize that health care might work as a tool to increase engagement with the site.

One catalyst: the unexpected success ofFacebook's "organ-donor status initiative," introduced in 2012. The day thatFacebookaltered profile pages to allow members to specify their organ-donor status, 13,054 people registered to be organ donors online in theUnited States, a 21-fold increase over the daily average of 616 registrations, according to a June 2013 study published inthe American JournalofTransplantation.

Separately,Facebookproduct teams noticed that people with chronic ailments such as diabetes would search the social networking site for advice, said one formerFacebookinsider. In addition, the proliferation of patient networks such as PatientsLikeMe demonstrate that people are increasingly comfortable sharing symptoms and treatment experiences online.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg may step up his personal involvement in health. Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, a pediatric resident atUniversity of California at San Francisco, recently donated $5 million to theRavenswood Health Centerin EastPalo Alto, Calif.

Any advertising built around the health initiatives would not be as targeted as it could be on television or other media. Pharmaceutical companies, for instance, are prohibited from usingFacebookto promote the sale of prescription drugs, in part because of concerns surrounding disclosures.

See original here:

Facebook plots move into health care field