Health 2.0 sessions at Europe’s leading eHealth event

Learn more about this topic at eHealth week 2010, 15-18 March in Barcelona

Published: 12/10/2009

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - (HealthTech Wire / News) - eHealth week 2010 thought leaders will challenge you to imagine a world where you don’t need to travel across town to see a doctor. Instead the doctor would come to your doorstep, whenever it suited you. A fantasy world? Maybe not. The internet and in particular, Social Media, also known as Web 2.0, is transforming traditional healthcare practices and it is happening now.

Health 2.0 will be a topic of discussion at eHealth week 2010 in Barcelona, 15-18 March, 2010, a joint event between the World of Health IT Conference & Exhibition and the European Commission’s High Level eHealth Conference. Leading experts will look at the benefits and challenges of using social networking in a healthcare environment. Could Twitter and Facebook replace a physical doctor-patient consultation? There are many supporters and skeptics alike. eHealth week 2010  offers an ideal forum for practitioners, users, government leaders and decision makers to discuss this pressing topic.       

Health 2.0 is the popular name for a new industry which is changing the face of healthcare as we know it. The rapid spread of broadband has opened the door to a flow of endless amounts of information. Interactive websites allows you to pose your question to thousands of people. Unlike traditional websites, Web 2.0 applications allow people to interact, share experiences and knowledge. Where traditional healthcare facilities gives a patient access to one doctor; the internet, and especially the Web 2.0 applications opens the door to a vast number of healthcare facilities, and presents the possibility to interact with qualified doctors and patients from Greenland to Fiji. The internet has empowered the patient by granting it access to the wisdom of the crowds.

Saving time and money
Some argue that Health 2.0 could present endless cost saving features. Twitter, for instance, could allow doctors to provide instant answers to you and everyone else following the group on a medical topic. Dedicated patient forums are already virtual spaces where you can read about other people’s experiences and familiarise yourself with treatments and doctors specialized in the subject. Health 2.0 can potentially save money, bureaucracy and time. Just look at the number of online patient forums. The number of hospitals and specialised clinics offering online consultations, are growing by the day. Handy, if you get ill on a trip abroad and want to consult with the doctor you trust.

The downsides
Clearly, there are many benefits associated with the rise of Health 2.0 applications.  However, there are also downsides such as data security, credibility of sources and privacy issues. How can you know that the person you are talking to is actually an accredited medical doctor or hospital? Should one patient’s personal experience be a guideline for everyone else? What about existing pre-conditions which are not always accounted for on an online forum?

Some argue that although there are many obvious downsides; the benefits hugely outweigh the risks. Health 2.0 is clearly a controversial topic which in one way or the other will influence the future of healthcare institutions and practices. What do you think?

Health 2.0 conference session
The Health 2.0 session titled: ‘How hospitals and Healthcare organizations can address Web 2.0? Is Healthcare ready for open access to information?’ will take place on March 18th at 9.30am.

The focus of the session will be to discuss how clinical transformation only can occur through changes in processes and how web 2.0 applications can be a solution to transformation. In the session attendees will learn the fundamentals of social networking; review the role of clinical transformation in improving healthcare; understand some basic web 2.0 concepts and technology and witness some practical experiences of Web 2.0 Social Platforms for Clinicians and Patients.

The session will be moderated by Miguel Cabrer, CEO & Founder of Medting.com who will also share his experience in the Web 2.0 field as a speaker, alongside other experts: Denise Silber (Organizer of Health 2.0 Conference in Paris) and Jen McCabe, from NextHealth.

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