Patient Centered IT

A recent discussion in the

Health Care Blog caught my attention:

http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2010/02/by-matthew-holt—-the-not-huge-world-of-health-20-participatory-medicine-and—epatients-has-been-fretting-itself-about.html

I support Mathtew’s view:

So I’m bemused by Darthmed’s demand that “Health 2.0 – prove yourself quickly or step aside” Health 2.0 is part of a much larger societal process, and it ain’t going anywhere while there are sick people and while technology evolves so that sick people and those who care about them can use it to help themselves.

The important point about all these 2.0 stuff and so for Patient Centered IT in it’s vicinity is that technology is nothing without educated patients. But patients will profit from technology while educated. Part of this is a chicken egg dilemma but only if the frontiers are too limited. Patients get educated by other patients and that’s what behind the community principle. Patients learn what other patients do. Technology just stands there to leverage this across borders and cultures. The benefit of Patient participation is not the technology, it’s vice versa. But i understand that depending on perspective, situation and experience the understanding of the whole process might be different. People once thought the sun circles the earth. Change requires open minds. This is difficult. Just think about what is wrong in healthcare delivery. Kopernikus did this once with planetary data.