Syndicom

Trials and tribulations in the health 2.0 sphere.

RNcentral released this week their list of Top 50 health 2.0 blogs. As I read through the list, I was interested in its diversity and also the youth of some of the major players. But I was also interested in how this blog intersected with several others I have read recently heralding the demise of health 2.0, as well as some of the more dodgy practices appearing by some of same major players.

These are the days of gloom and doom for many of those creating, contemplating and critiquing health 2.0 enterprises as well as THE health 2.0 enterprise, often phrased as ‘will health 2.0 change the world?’ The dark horizons are not aided by the failure of one of those health 2.0 enterprises that said it would change the world, Revolution Health, now struggling to exist as rumors abound of its impending sale and eminent death. Then there are the endless debates over just how such a nascent Health 2.0 movement will ever change the world while mainstream major healthcare players remain leery over engaging with web 2.0 due to privacy, professionalism and profit concerns.

Of course, some of the more critical social theorists would argue as Matthew Holt of The Healthcare Blog does, that healthcare will not change until these technologies move from the periphery into the center of such organizations.As a counterpoint though, there is a reason why Silicon Valley organizations and IT startups have long employed the skunkworks model of R&D - cos sometimes you just have to retreat and move into a separate space, away from the players to really conceive of something radically different. Furthermore, it can’t be all bad if professional associations are getting in on the game as CMA have with Asklepios in Canada. We all dream of better health and better care, and thus a better form of healthcare, even if it means loosening the straps of the straitjackets we have convinced ourselves are necessary to escape litigation.

With all the stories of risk and ridicule out there, it brightens a blogger’s day to find a nicely articulated reminder of the importance of health 2.0, IF (and it is a big IF) we can get over all the excuses. Such a reminder was delivered this week by Vijay Goel on his blog, Consumer-focused healthcare. Goel, an MD, discusses the many reasons why and how the empowering and democratizing web 2.0 tools that underpin health 2.0 are important…mainly, because they provide decision support for….

1. consumers who wish to make decisions around everyday health, who to see when they need professional help, and navigation of options where next steps are not straightforward.
2. providers who wish to deploy optimal treatments for their patients by benefiting from peer to peer support, statistics and outcome projections, as well as discussions of treatment comparisons, etc.
3. everyone who coordinates care and needs to highlight personalized priorities/highest impact activities.
4. all those who wish to create spaces for developing technological advances that allow for the better treatment of specific issues.

If any of these reasons resonate with you, then health 2.0 enterprises and their accompanying web 2.0 technologies deserve your attention and support because they will change your world as well as all those you work for and with. Remember…..