One of the central themes during both the Health 2.0 conference and the Disruptive Women in Health Care Breakfast events was the growing role of the patient in their health care decisions.  Whereas once patients were limited to the information given by their doctor and perhaps an encyclopedia at home, patients now have the Internet to provide a world of new information.  And this new world of information is empowering patients with questions, solutions, research, and more, to play a more active role in their health care choices.

One of the most popular ways of gathering and sharing health information is through targeted social networks, like Patients Like Me.  More than just a social network, Patients Like Me captures and shares valuable results among patients, health care professionals, and industry organizations that are trying to treat disease. NextGenWeb spoke with the website’s Chairman and Co-Founder, Jamie Heywood, about the site and what makes it so successful.  “Simplicity of use is necessary, but the real thing you have to focus on is solving a problem for someone.”

People are also able to take better control of their health with broadband-enabled tools designed around general health and wellness.  Although many websites geared towards diet and exercise offer information, there is a movement of innovation around taking the next steps to motivation, tracking and sharing. NextGenWeb spoke with Nicholas Tolson, the CEO of FitFeud, an online fitness competition site while at the Health 2.0 Conference.  See how his company is embracing broadband for wellness below.

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The Steering Committee on Telehealth and Healthcare Informatics recently hosted a briefing titled “Advances in Telemedicine: Lessons to be Learned Going Forward into an e-Enabled Healthcare Environment”.

The lunch briefing provided an overview of current issues and opportunities in Telemedicine, and focused on the adoption, implementation and policy lessons as we go forward into a new technology-enabled healthcare environment. Some of the questions that were discussed during the lunch seminar include: How does Telemedicine relate to the electronic medical record and to healthcare information exchange? What is the state, federal and private sector policy agenda for the next several years?

Presenters Included:
• Neal Neuberger, Executive Director, Institute for e-Health Policy (Moderator)
• Jonathan Linkous, Chief Executive Officer, American Telemedicine Association
• Jay H. Sanders, M.D. President and CEO, The Global Telemedicine Group
• Stuart Ferguson, Ph.D. and John Kokesh, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
• Walt Grant, Director of Government Affairs and IT Integration, INRange Systems, Inc.

Click below to watch NextGenWeb video coverage of the briefing

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NextGenWeb recently conducted a podcast interview with Dr. Gwen O’Keefe, Associate Medical Director for Quality and Informatics at the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, WA.

Group Health provides medical coverage and care to more than 580,000 residents in Washington state and North Idaho through Group Health Cooperative or its subsidiaries, Group Health Options, Inc. Group Health Cooperative began in 1947 as a community coalition dedicated to making quality health care available and affordable. Today it is one of the few health care organizations in the country governed by consumers. Its 1

Click below to listen to Dr. O’Keefe discuss how her organization is utilizing health information technology to improve health care for patients, including a program called the Medical Home Movement. The Medical Home Movement in particular has been found to advance societal health, and thanks to broadband, is becoming more prevalent throughout Washington State.

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