Abstract
Recent advancements in information and communication technologies do not stop at the borders of the healthcare sector. Therefore, this essay portrays the emergence of the topical phenomenon of Health 2.0. This concept combines latest Web 2.0 technologies with healthcare-related content. After introducing a common definition of Health 2.0, the essay elevates its core characteristics of social networking, participation, apomediation, openness and collaboration. These key features help to illustrate the prominent role of Health 2.0 applications in today’s societies with two striking case examples. First, the social networking platform PatientsLikeMe.Com shows how shared patient experiences contribute to improved health self-management and support clinical knowledge. Second, Microsoft HealthVault demonstrates the potentials and limitations of web-based personal health record systems. Ultimately, this essay closes by transparently assessing the benefits and risks of Health 2.0 on the patient level, provider level and system level. Taking a societal perspective, levers for healthcare policy to encourage Health 2.0 adaption are suggested.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
For a more detailed overview on practical examples for Health 2.0 application see Kamel Boulos and Wheeler (2007).
References
Aase L, Timimi FK (2013) Health care social media: engagement and health care in the digital era. Clin Obstet Gynecol 56(3):471–476. doi:10.1097/GRF.0b013e31829d6058
Ahmad F, Hudak PL, Bercovitz K, Hollenberg E, Levinson W (2006) Are physicians ready for patients with internet-based health information? J Med Internet Res 8(3):e22. doi:10.2196/jmir.8.3.e22
AlGhamdi KM, Moussa NA (2012) Internet use by the public to search for health-related information. Int J Med Inform 81(6):363–373. doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2011.12.004
Antheunis ML, Tates K, Nieboer TE (2013) Patients’ and health professionals’ use of social media in health care: motives, barriers and expectations. Patient Educ Couns 92(3):426–431. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2013.06.020
Arnst C (2008) Health 2.0: patients as partners. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2008-12-03/health-2-dot-0-patients-as-partners
Chou W-YS, Hunt YM, Beckjord EB, Moser RP, Hesse BW (2009) Social media use in the United States: implications for health communication. J Med Internet Res 11(4):e48. doi:10.2196/jmir.1249
Chretien KC, Azar J, Kind T (2011) Physicians on Twitter. JAMA 305(6):566–568
Eysenbach G (2008) Medicine 2.0: social networking, collaboration, participation, apomediation, and openness. J Med Internet Res 10(3):e22. doi:10.2196/jmir.1030
Eysenbach G, Kohler C (2003) What is the prevalence of health-related searches on the world wide web? Qualitative and quantitative analysis of search engine queries on the internet. In: AMIA annual symposium proceedings, pp 225–229
Frost JH, Massagli MP (2008) Social uses of personal health information within PatientsLikeMe, an online patient community: what can happen when patients have access to one another’s data. J Med Internet Res 10(3):e15. doi:10.2196/jmir.1053
Google (2011) An update on Google Health and Google Powermeter. Retrieved from http://googleblog.blogspot.de/2011/06/update-on-google-health-and-google.html
Greaves F, Ramirez-Cano D, Millett C, Darzi A, Donaldson L (2013) Harnessing the cloud of patient experience: using social media to detect poor quality healthcare. BMJ Qual Saf 22(3):251–255. doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2012-001527
Hamm MP, Chisholm A, Shulhan J, Milne A, Scott SD, Klassen TP, Hartling L (2013) Social media use by health care professionals and trainees: a scoping review. Acad Med 88(9):1376–1383
Hawn C (2009) Take two aspirin and tweet me in the morning: how Twitter, Facebook, and other social media are reshaping health care. Health Aff 28(2):361–368. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.28.2.361
Jha AK, Des Roches CM, Campbell EG, Donelan K, Rao SR, Ferris TG, Blumenthal D (2009) Use of electronic health records in US hospitals. N Engl J Med 360(16):1628–1638
Kamel Boulos MN, Maramba I, Wheeler S (2006) Wikis, blogs and podcasts: a new generation of web-based tools for virtual collaborative clinical practice and education. BMC Med Educ 6:41. doi:10.1186/1472-6920-6-41
Kamel Boulos MN, Wheeler S (2007) The emerging Web 2.0 social software: an enabling suite of sociable technologies in health and health care education. Health Info Libr J 24(1):2–23. doi:10.1111/j.1471-1842.2007.00701.x
Kivits J (2006) Informed patients and the internet: a mediated context for consultations with health professionals. J Health Psychol 11(2):269–282. doi:10.1177/1359105306061186
Kummervold PE, Chronaki CE, Lausen B, Prokosch H-U, Rasmussen J, Santana S, Wangberg SC (2008) eHealth trends in Europe 2005–2007: a population-based survey. J Med Internet Res 10(4):e42. doi:10.2196/jmir.1023
Lagu T, Hannon N, Rothberg M, Lindenauer P (2010) Patients’ evaluations of health care providers in the era of social networking: an analysis of physician-rating websites. J Gen Intern Med 25(9):942–946. doi:10.1007/s11606-010-1383-0
Lo B, Parham L (2010) The impact of Web 2.0 on the doctor-patient relationship. J Law Med Ethics 38(1):17–26. doi:10.1111/j.1748-720X.2010.00462.x
McKee R (2013) Ethical issues in using social media for health and health care research. Health Policy 110(2–3):298–301. doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2013.02.006
Moorhead SA, Hazlett DE, Harrison L, Carroll JK, Irwin A, Hoving C (2013) A new dimension of health care: systematic review of the uses, benefits, and limitations of social media for health communication. J Med Internet Res 15(4):e85. doi:10.2196/jmir.1933
Muhdi L, Boutellier R (2010) Diffusion of potential health-related e-services: an analysis of Swiss health customer perspectives. J Manage Market Healthc 3(1):60–72. doi:10.1179/175330310x12665775636580
Nettleton S, Burrows R (2003) E-scaped medicine? Information, reflexivity and health. Crit Soc Pol 23(2):165–185. doi:10.1177/0261018303023002003
Randeree E (2009) Exploring technology impacts of healthcare 2.0 initiatives. Telemed J E Health 15(3):255–260. doi:10.1089/tmj.2008.0093
Rogers EM (1962) Diffusion of innovations. Free Press of Glencoe, New York, NY
Steinbrook R (2008) Personally controlled online health data-the next big thing in medical care? N Engl J Med 358(16):1653–1656
Thackeray R, Neiger B, Smith A, Van Wagenen S (2012) Adoption and use of social media among public health departments. BMC Public Health 12(1):242. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-242
Van de Belt TH, Engelen LJ, Berben SA, Schoonhoven L (2010) Definition of Health 2.0 and Medicine 2.0: a systematic review. J Med Internet Res 12(2):e18. doi:10.2196/jmir.1350
Van de Belt TH, Berben SA, Samsom M, Engelen LJ, Schoonhoven L (2012) Use of social media by Western European hospitals: longitudinal study. J Med Internet Res 14(3):e61. doi:10.2196/jmir.1992
Wald HS, Dube CE, Anthony DC (2007) Untangling the web-the impact of internet use on health care and the physician–patient relationship. Patient Educ Couns 68(3):218–224. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2007.05.016
Wicks P, Massagli M, Frost J, Brownstein C, Okun S, Vaughan T, Heywood J (2010) Sharing health data for better outcomes on patientslikeme. J Med Internet Res 12(2):e19. doi:10.2196/jmir.1549
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fischer, S., Soyez, K. (2015). Trick or Treat: Assessing Health 2.0 and Its Prospects for Patients, Providers and Society. In: Gurtner, S., Soyez, K. (eds) Challenges and Opportunities in Health Care Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12178-9_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12178-9_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-12177-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-12178-9
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)