The IT world is already overflowing with new and unnecessary 2.0 labels, so healthcare IT professionals will likely view Health 2.0 with a fair amount of skepticism. Nevertheless, it is important to understand what people are calling “Health 2.0”, because organization administrators will be asking about it or wanting to implement it, while physicians and patients may already be using it to some degree. The Physician Executive Journal reports that about 80% of Internet users currently rely on online resources for healthcare information.

What Is Health 2.0?

Like many other 2.0 labels, Health 2.0 is a wide-ranging term with several divergent definitions. Most experts agree that Health 2.0 involves the application of Web 2.0 technology to the healthcare field. Some definitions simply end there, while others claim that Health 2.0 extends far beyond the Web and represents an ideological departure from traditional healthcare delivery. Info-Tech adheres to the more limited, undisputed definition.