healthcare 20 definition

Health 2.0: The Definition

Health 2.0*: The Definition

1. Term (see below)

2. Companies

3. Movement (see later)

Much ado has been made about the term and concept "Web 2.0". The many

and sundry abuses of the term have led it to be one of the most

over-buzzed, over-hyped, and over-rated definitions of 2006. The term

has been trademarked, become a conference, and has transcended from a

cultural adjective to a business noun. However, as a concept, it is

very much alive. In fact, the term has transcended "definition" to

become a "movement" describing the ever widening social, cultural, and

innovation effects of the internet.

Web 2.0 was coined by media and technology icon Tim O'Reilly, a well

respected and highly successful entrepreneur and prognosticator of all

things internet related. Tim provided a detailed description of the

term, concept, and movement in a September 30, 2005 tome. Generically,

Web 2.0 represents an emphasis on a culture of openness, with social

software that leverages the web as a platform to provide customized

services and a rich user experience. Basically, it is next generation

internet with increasingly simple yet simultaneously sophisticated

software that allows ever widening access and uses of information. Tim

has refined the "definition" in both December 2005 and again in

December 2006. A comprehensive graphic that captures the essence of

the current thinking regarding Web 2.0 is found below:

Graphic Taken from Dion Hinchcliffe's excellent blog, "Web 2.0

Definition Updated"

Redirecting back to healthcare and the topic of this post, how is the

Web 2.0 term and the concept relevant to healthcare? Of interest,

there is a powerful "Health 2.0" movement afoot within the industry as

indicated by major, game changing reforms being suggested at the White

House, Federal, State, and Industry level. Before your "hype dejour"

meter redlines, let me convince you that the conversation IS relevant,

and that understanding the economics, the competitive imperatives, and

the sociopolitical backdrop of the current healthcare reform momentum

will help to underscore the role that the type of companies correctly

described by Health 2.0 term can play in the process (See an initial

listing of "Health 2.0" companies).

I realize that attempting to define something currently nebulous,

evolving, and inherently "squishy" is challenging, however, after a

thorough google search and no clear definition, it is time someone

began the process by making an attempt. In other words, and to pay

homage to the buzzword compliance police, I am hoping to leverage this

medium (my blog) as an "architecture of participation" to tap into the

"collective intelligence" of the HITSphere community and beyond.

So here goes the alpha definition v0.2:

* Health 2.0 Definition: "New concept of healthcare wherein all the

constituents (patients, physicians, providers, and payers) focus

on healthcare value (outcomes/price) and use competition at the

medical condition level over the full cycle of care as the

catalyst for improving the safety, efficiency, quality of health

care delivery."

* Health 2.0 Company: "Next generation health companies that

leverage the principles of openness, standards, and transparency;

utilize the technology tools of collaboration, information

exchange, and knowledge transfer; and focus on delivering value

added services that empower health participants (patients,

physicians, providers, and payers) with freedom, choice, and

accountability for health outcomes.

I am a strong believer in the concept of "a picture is worth a

thousand words" and am currently working on a graphic to bring all of

this together. Stay tuned...

* I originally called it "Healthcare 2.0" but quickly realized adding

"care" unnecessarily narrowed the term.