E-health 2.0: health’s consumer revolution

20 May 2008

E-Health Insider’s new report ‘Web 2.0 in the Health Sector’, concludes that new online applications based on social health networks, participation and user generated content (UGC) - such as user reviews of doctors and hospitals – will rapidly evolve to challenge existing healthcare systems and create new delivery models.

The report details how the application of web 2.0 technologies is now driving far-reaching changes in healthcare systems in the UK, USA and Europe, a trend it terms e-health 2.0. Twenty leading companies from around the world are profiled in the report.

Our research suggests that those who ignore the deep trends of e-health 2.0 risk missing the early stages of a social, economic and technological tectonic shift in healthcare planning and delivery. If this sounds overblown, it’s worth remembering what changes have already occurred in other consumer industries.

Placing consumers in the driving seat

Web 2.0 has revolutionised service industries, such as banking and travel, creating consumer-facing tools that help put the customer in the driving seat. For example, consumers are able to view their bank account status and transact online. In travel many not only shop and buy online, but may only choose to book a holiday or hotel after reading online reviews. In response, these service industries have seen a surge in online activity. Today’s consumers want the right information, at the right time with minimal effort.

Though more complex and important to individuals, healthcare is no different. Health is a service-based industry, which has been slow to digitise, but is now experiencing a dramatic shift in how information – ranging from official clinical outcomes data to users’ perceptions of services – is originated, handled and used.

Healthcare consumers are demanding a more personalised healthcare delivery model. Thanks to a diverse range of new online tools and services, some consumers are finally beginning to take more control of their healthcare. Our research suggests we are at the early stages of a consumer trend that has the potential to quickly gather momentum.

What is web 2.0?

Web 2.0 technologies take the form of social networks, RSS feeds, mashups and wikis, to name a few. These technologies and tools have catalysed a surge in online activity where even novice internet users can post feedback. The UGC accumulated from these sites has the potential to create rich repositories to inform the industries they serve.

As the online user experience becomes more person-centric, so too will the industries that use this medium as a vehicle to connect and transport information from institution to end user and vice versa. The health industry, in particular, has already begun to realise the benefits of employing consumer-facing tools.

E-health 2.0 in action

The trend we term ‘e-health 2.0’, is not just hype as it is already in motion. Although many trailblazers have come from the US West Coast, Europe is also providing imaginative responses. The UK in particular has some ambitious public and private initiatives based on web 2.0 approaches.

NHS Choices

NHS Choices, a digital health service that seeks to provide a direct interface between the UK public and the NHS, launched in June 2007. The service offers its users video clips, interactive tools, daily news service and lifestyle features.

As a personal health manager and social network for health, this service demonstrates the Government’s investment and keen interest in engaging with UK healthcare consumers. As the patient choice agenda continues gain momentum, NHS Choices may prove an invaluable resource for patients, carers, family members as well as providers of health and social care services.

Microsoft HealthVault

In the US Microsoft has launched its HealthVault platform, designed to put consumers in control of their data. HealthVault is designed as a health organiser to enable users to collect, store and share their health information only with those granted permission. Through partnerships and commercial agreements, HealthVault facilitates connections with third party applications and devices.

Google Health

As EHI reports this week a similar personal health record (PHR) initiative has now been launched by internet search giant Google, an initiative that combines the concepts of a PHR with UGC as well as powerful search tools and connectivity with clinical details from a range of healthcare providers.

What does this mean? The involvement of corporate giants like Microsoft and Google in healthcare consumerism should provide a wakeup call for all healthcare organisations. Online participatory technologies are helping to accelerate shifts in healthcare, away from a traditional, disease-led model to one that is patient-centric and increasingly consumer driven.

Shift from institution to individual

As industry leaders put to market more interactive, consumer-facing applications, patients are able to play a more active role in their healthcare. This shift of responsibility – away from the institution and towards the individual – has huge implications for healthcare systems around the world.

And though it’s the likes of Microsoft, Google and the NHS that most often capture the headlines, many of the most innovative developments come from small start-ups pioneering e-health 2.0. E-Health Insider’s new report profiles a cross-section of these leaders and innovators.

To better understand this emerging trend in e-health and how organisations can incorporate the concepts and technologies into their own strategy, E-Health Insider has produced ‘Web 2.0 in the Health Sector: Industry Review with UK Perspective’.

Click here to purchase your digital copy of the report

or download a free executive summary.

To enable registered readers to sample the research for free, we are offering one of the 20 profiles included in the report to download at no charge.

Lindsey Birnsteel

Reader's Comments

Calm down dear

21 May 08 16:05

I think there's a need for some perspective here. It's far from clear whether many of the initiatives mentioned above will have any substantial impact on the core business of healthcare, let alone leading to any kind of revolution. Undoubtedly people will get involved in social networking and such like, but the bulk of healthcare will still revolve around traditional services delivered by people, to other people.

As for 'consumers...demanding a more personalised delivery model' it's more the case that the Government has decided that people ought to have this, than any demand on the part of patients.

Is ignorance bliss??

jon@e-health-media.com

22 May 08 13:05

The comment 'Calm down dear' while possibly slightly patronising - not intended I'm sure - does go to the heart of the report. Interesting that the line comes from an advert for online insurance...

The arguement is not that web 2.0 concepts have yet transformed healthcare its that they have potential to.

The report sets out how a range of applications and innovators are beginning to evolve new models, which are based on placing the consumer in greater control, from personlised information to rating the care they receive.

The reason that Facebook, YouTube etc are so interesting is the speed with which they took off, and became extremely widely used. It is at least possible, the report suggests likely, that we will see some of the applications now coming through achieve comparable success, others clearly won't, while many more are certain to follow. This is a trend at an early stage.

Just suppose a Google Health or Microsoft healthVault, or some other personal health platform now under development, does achieve the kind of acceptance that some existing social networks have enjoyed. This has huge implications for everyone involved in what might be regarded as more traditional, 'heavyweight' health IT. E-health 2.0 is not a substitute for essential clinical systems but it will challenge the existing status quo, particularly how patients communicate with eachother and their clinicians.

Different challenge, but same basic idea is that many in the music industry refused to accept that technology had shifted the goalposts - but the industry has had to come to terms with digital distribution, however difficult that may be.

If your hospital is consistently rated as poor by patients visiting it on rating sites, how long before that starts to put patients off hit the bottom line. Sticking your head in the sand isn't much of a plan.

The central theme of the report is that these approaches have the potential to disrupt current healthcare models. It doesn't need to be more than a core group of early adopters to begin to have a significant impact.

Jon Hoeksma Editor E-Health Insider

Keeping things in perspective

23 May 08 10:05

You'll have to forgive the slightly tetchy tone of my initial posting. But I think it's really important for those of us working in this area to keep our feet on the ground over the likely impact of new technologies, particularly those broadly covered by the term 'new media'.

The dotcom boom is an object lesson in this regard. A lot of people were quick to recognise the potential of the online environment, but didn't temper that with sufficient objectivity. One of the key lessons from that episode is how little actually changed - that the necessity of a product people want and a viable business model could not be ignored, no matter how flashy the website.

In the same way, there is a lot of potential in the kind of web 2.0 services that we're seeing. But we need to be realistic about the extent to which they will change things, who they will change things for and the time this may take.

The picture that seems to be emerging is hardly earth shattering. People want to do traditional things (book appointments, repeat prescriptions etc) online certainly. People with chronic conditions are interested in accessing their records and possibly contributing data, but this is still a minority activity.

The jury is still out on whether there is any public appetite for shopping around for a hospital. And let's face it, there's little enough appetite for shopping for gas and electricity. Likewise, there isn't much evidence that the more elaborate forms of shared record (the Wiki-records of the Demos report) apply to anything other than a niche market.

Layered on top of this is the wider debate about equity and access. In the context of healthcare as a whole, what are the implications of putting resources into activities that may benefit a small number of connected, IT literate people, at the possible expense of Mrs Jones' hip operation?

In all of this, I'm not saying we shouldn't look into these things, experiment, develop new services, partly because it keeps me in a job. But also because it is interesting, exciting even, and some of these things may have great benefits in the long run. It's just that extrapolating beyond the data and overstating the case could be counter productive.

Power to the People

ted.yeoman@nhs.net

27 May 08 10:05

The title from an old John Lennon song but it resonates here.

Information is power.

For centuaries the "Doctors" have known the secrets of the medicine, diseases and the patients history. This has given them immense power and status. Now thanks to the Web the knowledge about the Medicine is public. Information about diseases is all in the public domain. In the very near future Web 2 and the PHR enable the patient to show their history to anyone they choose.

The "Doctors" have lost their knowledge power base, all they have left now is the important skill the abilty to diagnose and recommend treatment. If a patient doesn't like the diagnosis or the treatment options they will only have to open their PHR to another "Doctor" .... Self referral for a fully informed second opinion with full records. Patients creating their own league tables of GPs, Hospitals, Community Providers, Alternative Therapists..

That will change Healthcare forever! For the better.. who knows?

Power to the People

04 Jun 08 17:06

I think you mean power to the upper and middle class educated people. I think you will find that's where power has been for some time.

You are confusing knowledge with information. Doctors are no more clever than us. They remember just as much stuff as we do. I know plenty of guitar chords but I'm not Eric Clapton. Access to more information is a good thing, but unless you have the education, training and experience to understand and apply what it means you are just thrashing about in a different way.

Also I dont think Doctors are intrinically evil, hording thier information, hiding it away like a shamen and releasing it in small chunks for profit. My experience is that Docotrs will rabbit on about their interest area until you die of boredom.

Im all for new technology, its my job (I dont get paid for playing the guitar I suppose you have guessed). But technology is merely a way to do things more efficiently. It gives you a new tool. It doesnt make what you do any better. I have a very nice Fender guitar but I cant play like Jimmy Hendrix.

Web 2 is not a great leap. It wont change anything much. People will have another avenue to gripe or throw stones. They'll have another method of getting information which will scare them half to death (is that lump in my trousers Cancer or am I just pleased to see you?).

Now will you lot please get a life.

Post 5 an apeology

05 Jun 08 10:06

Sorry about all the spelling errors in post 5. I’ve tried using the goggle speckle chequer but it keeps putting in all the rang woods. I’ll obviously have to wait for Web 3.