Web giants take early lead in launching health portals

Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are jumping on the growing trend for consumers to manage their own healthcare by developing online portals. Community-based social networking websites dedicated to health-related issues are also springing up on the web, and according to the chief scientist for the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation in Toronto, these types of Web 2.0 applications are giving consumers greater control over their own healthcare. "We will go from Healthcare 1.0 to Healthcare 2.0," says Dr. Gunter Eysenbach. "The consumer will be the agent of change." Speaking last week in Toronto the 6th Annual Health Innovation and Policy Conference, organized by Insight Information, Eysenbach notes that Web 2.0 savvy consumers will push the envelope in healthcare. "This is already happening with web sites such as HealthVault," says Eysenbach, an associate professor in the department of health policy, management and evaluation at the University of Toronto. HealthVault was developed by Microsoft and is a website where US users can store and manage personal health records without paying a fee if they are using other Microsoft products. The site, which offers encrypted security measures, also serves as a repository for health-related articles and other information. Users can allow other parties to have access to their information by giving their consent. Google is also stepping up to the plate with its own service. Google Health provides a wealth of information on health-related features, diet and exercise information, a localized search application to find doctors. The service also allows users to incorporate personal medical records. Where Web 1.0 provided limited opportunity for users to engage in their healthcare and information was mainly in a "read-only" format, Web 2.0 with applications such as wikis and blogs are a "read-write" format, allowing users to participate more actively in their own healthcare as well as that of others. Just as web communities are springing up on websites Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and MeetUp, communities of consumers, health professionals, and medical researchers will connect in cyberspace. Organizations such as Toronto's University Health Network, which brings together three teaching hospitals in downtown Toronto, have developed patient portals where patients can access - but not share - their personal health records. Online collaborative applications will be the enablers for next-generation healthcare, according to Eysenbach. The tethered health record needs to become a stand-alone application to engage patients in their care, he says, noting that in the future people should be able to export information from their personal health record via a user-friendly web interfaces and visit communities to get personalized information. "If the patient agrees to it and wants that information, the patient has a right to have that data," Eysenbach tells Network Letter, noting the "Google generation" will have greater expectations about managing their own healthcare as they age. "The current generation that uses technology everyday and creates content with technology will naturally demand these services in the healthcare field," he adds. However, Eysenbach notes that there is currently a gap that is preventing this from coming to fruition. It's not only a technology issue, but one of custom where the older generation subscribes to the premise that "the doctor knows best", while the younger generation is more comfortable using technology to get answers. "The gatekeeper or intermediary is standing between the user and the information," explains Eysenbach. People or tools called apomediaries will emerge that will guide consumers to health-related information. "Apomediaries will replace intermediaries and help users find credible and relevant information," he adds. Looking ahead, healthcare appears headed for change. And while care will still be provided by doctors and nurses, patients will be armed with much more information gained through participation in online collaborative health communities and other Web 2.0-inspired health applications.

Web giants take early lead in launching health portals

News | 05/05/2008 3:30 pm EDT

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