Web 2.0 set to revolutionize healthcare

LONDON, ENGLAND: Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia are now set to revolutionise healthcare, according to a new research report from online news service and publisher, E-Health Insider.

The new applications based on social health networks and content generated by health service users themselves - such as reviews of doctors and hospitals - will rapidly evolve to challenge existing healthcare systems and create new ways of delivering healthcare, said the report titled 'Web 2.0 in the Health Sector: Industry Review with a UK perspective'.

The research report details how the application of Web 2.0 technologies is now driving changes in healthcare systems in the UK, USA and Europe, a trend it terms e-health 2.0.

The report examines how participatory networked web 2.0 technologies - exemplified by Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia - are being applied to healthcare. Those who ignore the trends of e-health 2.0 risk missing the early stages of tectonic shift in healthcare, the report said.

The e-health 2.0 will first and foremost be consumer-led.

Health is consistently one of the most searched for subjects online. The application of Web 2.0 technologies into health is already challenging traditional doctor-patient relationships and beginning to place far greater power in the hands of consumers.

These changes are likely to be rapid and may prove highly disruptive, the report said.

E-Health Insider Research Editor and report author Lindsey Birnsteel, said: "Though important, this is not just about user generated content through social networking tools, Wikis, blogs, video clips, or mash-ups. Web 2.0 technologies are now being used for new interactions between patients and providers."