Inside the Mayo Clinic podcast

Behind the scenes of Mayo Clinic’s long-running medical podcasts

The top podcasts on iTunes are a mix of news and comedy.

So when Mayo Clinic’s medical podcast hit 29 on iTunes top 100, the high rank surprised even the communicators behind the show.

“Suddenly we were getting huge traffic spikes,” recalled Lee Aase, the manager of media relations and new media at Mayo Clinic. “When we went to iTunes we noticed our podcast was featured on the front page.”

This high watermark happened September 2005—about one year after podcasting was invented and shortly after iTunes began hosting them. Aase called it the benefit of being ahead of the curve—before podcasts grew in popularity—and having the Mayo name recognition.

This head start on social media that Aase mentioned helped the hospital outpace its competition and provide patients and the media with information in new and exciting ways. It also helped Aase and his staff amass a wealth of knowledge about podcasting which exceeds what even some experts can claim.

So here’s the scoop on Mayo Clinic’s podcasting: How it started, where the content comes from and how the podcast is produced.

From TV to podcasting