Patient, Heal Thyself: How to Succeed with Online Consumer Health Sites
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
12:00-2:00pm Program
11:30am Registration
Foley Hoag
Emerging Enterprise Center
1000 Winter Street
Waltham, MA
With consumer-directed care, patients are being asked to play a greater role in their health care. Moreover, those with chronic diseases often get better counsel from other sufferers than they do from physicians. This talk will cover the most effective ways to design and evaluate online health communities.
Changes in the health care system and the pervasiveness of the Internet have led to an increased use of the Internet by health care consumers. 80% of people in the US who use the Internet are using it for health searches.
Health web sites and online health communities provide a means for patients and their families to learn about an illness and seek support. The importance of online consumer health is evidenced by the popularity of sites such as WebMD and RevolutionHealth. Consumer health sites have a significant impact on the quality of life of their users who turn to them before seeking medical help.
Health web sites and online health communities raise difficult design challenges. These challenges include wide variability of participant's medical expertise, health literacy, and technology literacy. A major risk is the potential consequences when poor advice is taken or when professional treatment is not sought.
By participating in this interactive discussion you will learn:
1) How online communities benefit consumers and businesses
2) How the nature of the disease or illness impacts site design
3) How innovative Web 2.0 technologies can enhance participation
4) What is necessary to start and sustain successful sites
Speakers:
Lisa Neal is an Adjunct Clinical Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine, where she teaches a course on Online Health Communities. She has designed and evaluated online communities for clients including Michael J Fox Foundation, Environment and Health Group, and the NIH. Lisa is Editor-in-Chief of eLearn Magazine. She holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Harvard University. Lisa's blog on health and education is at http://lisaneal.com.
John Lester (also known as Pathfinder Linden) joined Linden Lab in 2005.
Linden Lab is the creator of Second Life, the online virtual world. He brings experience in online community development as well as a background in the fields of healthcare and education. Previously he was the Information Technology Director in the Neurology Service at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he pioneered the use of the web in 1993 to create online communities for supporting patients dealing with neurological disorders.
John also held an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School, where he created online collaborative environments for professors and students to advance the case-based teaching method in medical education.
John is currently a Community and Education Manager at Linden Lab, where he works with educators interested in using Second Life for teaching and academic research. He also works to advance the use of Second Life as a platform for "serious" applications such as healthcare training, patient support groups, simulation, and scientific visualization. You can learn more about him at http://pathfinderlinden.com.
Amir Lewkowicz is co-founder and Vice President for Partnerships at Inspire, a company that creates safe, trusted online health communities, organized by medical condition, for patients and caregivers. At Inspire, Amir creates and manages the relationships with Inspire's health organization partners.
Previously, Amir was channel manager at Sphera, a leading provider of web hosting automation software. At Sphera, Amir developed and managed relationships with partners such as I.B.M. Amir has also served as Sr. Account Manager for Triangle Technologies, a consulting firm that creates strategic alliances between Asian and non-Asian technology companies. In that capacity, developed and managed distribution agreements, marketing initiatives and investments on behalf of clients internationally.
Amir received his BA from The George Washington University and his MBA from Babson College, where he concentrated on social networks and online communities.
Registration is closed for this event. Walk-ins are welcome to register at the door on the day of the event.
