Health 2.0: Change Agents of the New Paradigm

Health 2.0: Change Agents of the New Paradigm

Change Agent (chānj ā’jənt) n.

1. A person who intentionally or indirectly causes or accelerates social, cultural, and behavioral change.
2.
A person who lobbies to change paradigms, by increasing information exchange, adopting new practices, and motivated to find better ways to do things.

As part of my attempt to define Health 2.0 as a term, it is natural to attempt to define what companies fit this definition. This is obviously very preliminary, far from comprehensive, and far from accurate as the definition is still being worked out. However, in an attempt to begin to the process, here is the initial list:

Health Portals/Health Content

  1. Revolution Health
  2. WebMD – (Premium healthcare information aggregator) – “Better information – Better health”
  3. Healthwise – (Consumer health content) – “Solutions for better health decisions”

Health Advisory Services

  1. Healthgrades
  2. Health Dialog

Personal Health Records

  1. MedCommons
  2. CapMed
  3. Tolven Health

Healthcare Communities

  1. Sermo (online physician communities) – “Know First”
  2. Organized Wisdom
  3. Daily Strength
  4. Patients Like Me
  5. HITSphere (healthcare blog aggregator) – “Network of premium health blogs”

Healthcare Financial Services

  1. Health Equity
  2. MedBillManager
  3. Vimo – (provide healthcare information to consumers) – “Comparison shopping for health”

Consumer Directed Testing

  1. DNA Direct (value added genetic testing services) – “Genetic Testing Center of Excellence”
  2. MyMedLab (consumer directed laboratory services) – “Patient Directed Laboratory Testing at 1/2 the price”

Uncategorized

  1. Click4Care

I would welcome any feedback as to other companies, other categories, or other thoughts about how to define the movement.

* Last updated on February 15, 2007

3 Comments
  • Anonymous
    Posted at 16:13h, 25 January Reply

    I enjoyed the list of providers and I am always interested in companies who are dedicated to the cause of change especially in a market that is doesn’t want to lose their stranglehold on the American consumer.

    One provider I have found that is actually providing real health care services is MyMedLab.com. Their site provides excellent educational information including links with every test to the National Library of Medicine.

    They have found a way to make routine health care easy to access, affordable and completely confidential. You purchase your testing online or through their Call Center and visit one of the 1500 collection sites they partner with across the U.S.

    I purchased a Wellness Profile from MyMedLab.com that included all the same tests and more that my doctor had run on me two years before for about 1/4 of the cost my doctor charged me.

    I went the next morning for collection without an appointment to the same place he had sent me that was 2 miles from my house. I had results in 24 hours that came with a brief explanation of each test.

    What a huge difference from what I got from my doctor two years before. First his tests cost me FOUR TIMES MORE and all I got was a phone call two weeks later that everything was fine. Never saw my results. Never got to discuss anything about them.

    They provide a wide range of Wellness Profiles that have been created based on the consumer’s age, gender and family history. This basic information is all you need to know to choose the profile that best fits your specific group. It removes the mystery of what tests evaluate the common health problems associated with your age, and sex as a group.

    Their process also includes the services of an doctor in your state who approves your order, reviews your results and is available for a FREE consultation about your results if you need one. The cost of this service is included in the price of their tests.

    I encourage you to visit their site and see for yourself. I would also suggest you add them to your next list of companies making a difference in health care today.

  • Scott Shreeve, MD
    Posted at 16:20h, 25 January Reply

    Very Cool. This is the type of value added service that consumers are want and are willing to pay for. What is interesting, as demonstrated in this case, is that higher quality service can often cost less – in this case FOUR TIMES less.

    Thanks for the insight. MyMedLab has been added to personal health record section (one the PHR’s should partner with MyMedLab to determine how to get a results feed into the PHR).

  • Unity
    Posted at 18:48h, 25 January Reply

    Scott,

    Great roundup! And we’re looking forward to seeing this list grow as more entrepreneurs, technologists, and health professionals launch new companies to try and fix some of the challenges impacting us all with healthcare. It’s great to see some momentum finally.

    Since OrganizedWisdom is listed in the “uncategorized” bin, we have been classifying ourselves as Health Information/Health Community heading while we are focused on leveraging the Wisdom of Crowds and social media tools.

    Keep up the great blog!

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