Health 2.0 User-Generated Healthcare 2009

The conference was introduced by Matthew Holt and Indu Subaiya, and the day began with a video reviewing 2.0’s from the past and what 2.0 actually “is.” Jay Parkinson (Myca) was highlighted quickly; the video was about building simple tools to do great things. Controversy (Kibbe) was also discussed, and “hairball” was used to describe the current system. Healthcare IT: If we do nothing, nothing happens.

Holt is a bit of a pessimist, but he knows we’re coming closer and closer to becoming much more influential in terms of tools, platforms, and applications. It’s not just silicon valley; the elderly, teens, and other developing countries are using these new 2.0 tools, so it’s not just about demographics. Still, hospital systems and employers in the US are the most important and the change has become palpable.

Emphasis is on improving outcomes and quality; participatory healthcare. Holt’s definition is:

1. Personalized search that finds the right answer

2. Integrated data

3. Communities that capture accumulated thoughts/knowledge

4. Intelligent tools for content delivery

Search, social networks, and tools (VEN diagram), along with content, transaction data are all part of the equation, but now we’re starting to put it all together. Think of it as a progression:

1. UG Healthcare

2. Users connect to providers

3. Partnerships to reform delivery

4. Data drives decisions and discovery

Emergence of Consumer-Focused Tools

1. Personalized

2. Analytical

3. Supporting decisions

4. Enabling transactions

The introduction finished with outlining the agenda and what’s going on over the next two days, in addition to a poll to test out the neat text polling features.