OrganizedWisdom Health Blog

Cholesterol WisdomCard: What's your number?

Do you know the difference between "good" and "bad"? The Cholesterol WisdomCard offers you the best resources on how cholesterol works, how to prevent problems, and who needs to pay attention to those numbers.

HIV WisdomCard: Learn the latest

It may have been a while since you read up on HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. What's new in research and treatment? Are you taking the right preventive steps, and giving your kids the right messages? The HIV WisdomCard can put you on the right track with reliable, physician-reviewed information.

Leprosy WisdomCard: It's no joke

You may have seen the Simpsons episode where Homer and Bart get leprosy, but what is it really? Find out more with the Leprosy WisdomCard.

Sleep Apnea WisdomCard may help you stop sawing logs

Have people in your life commented on your snoring? You may well have sleep apnea, a common ailment that causes the sleeper to stop breathing many times in the night without waking up. Of course, if you're doing all that, you're not getting good sleep, which can lead to lost productivity, decreased mental and physical function, depression, and (yes) sleepiness. Find out more about sleep apnea and how to treat and prevent it with the human-guided, physician-reviewed resources on the Sleep Apnea WisdomCard. (Photo: Andrew Stawarz)

Salon.com: Is there a doctor in the mouse?

It's great to be recognized for the important strides we are making to help patients navigate the complex and ever-changing world of online health information. It makes it especially great when an article written by a doctor points out that physicians themselves need just as much help figuring out the online health landscape.

Check out a great Health 2.0 article today "Is there a doctor in the mouse?" by Rahul K. Parikh, MD in online magazine Salon.com.

Dr. Parikh frames the problem:

The medical establishment...has taken way too much time to understand that the Internet is a disruptive innovation that has overturned the status quo. It has leveled the playing field between expert and novice -- in this case, doctor and patient. While some doctors ... may find that challenge threatening to their status as an expert, the Web is now providing the kind of information doctors need to be aware of if we want to continue to be good at our job, and the kind of trends that can help patients be smarter and healthier.

He describes the difference between OrganizedWisdom and Google

One example is Organized Wisdom, a search engine for medical issues. What gives it an edge over general search engines like Google and Yahoo is that its content is vetted by health professionals. If you type "autism" into Organized Wisdom, you'll receive an organized set of links to reliable sites that allow you to look at the symptoms of autism, potential treatments, research studies, and support groups. If you do the same using Google, the first site you'll see is Autism.org. If you click the link, you'll be taken to a page sponsored by groups preaching that vaccines are unsafe and favoring "alternative" treatments that are untested and potentially dangerous.

He wraps it up nicely...

Patients who, prior to a visit, consult information online can better share in the decision-making process with their doctor. Afterward, they can go online to find information that reinforces their decision or introduces them to viable alternatives.

Autism WisdomCard helps unlock doors

My friend's 4-year-old has autism. This little girl is intelligent and adorable, and her parents are smart, loving people who will do what it takes to help her live the best life possible. Yet it was a relief when their second daughter was evaluated and found not to have autism.

The Autism WisdomCard offers high-quality resources on autism to help you better understand this mysterious disorder, including the important early signs that can help get a young child into treatment as soon as possible. You'll also find links to recent news about autism, including a new study refuting the belief that mercury in vaccines causes the disorder.

What's in store for the Health 2.0 Movement in 2008...

For arguments sake, let's say 2006-ish was the year that Health 2.0 was born. At least that's when the first new companies really started to take shape in the space and promote innovation in health care in a significant way.  Besides our own OrganizedWisdom.com, companies like Sermo, DailyStrength and Revolution Health all launched new offerings.

But it was 2007 that turned Health 2.0 into a movement (a moment noticed by all who attended the Health 2.0 Conference last September in San Fransisco) and laid the foundation for what's to come over the coming years: an explosion of innovation, investment, and mass market adoption that if we have anything to do about it will bring us all new/better health care services, bring transparency to our perplexing system, and help us reduce health care costs.

So what's in store for the Health 2.0 movement in 2008?

2008 is going to be an important year for the Health 2.0 movement. 

That's because we are seeing a number of new products and services launch, get funded and strike new deals. Perhaps more importantly, several "start-ups" that have been around for a few years, will start to hit their stride, gain traction, and refine their business models.  But the biggest trend for this movement may be the integration of Health 2.0 services and ideas with the health care "establishment" -- large health care providers, networks, health plans, organizations and information providers as an example. 

Companies from the so-called old guard in health care are already starting to take notice of Health 2.0 from our own observations, but in 2008 they will much more actively get involved, and begin to learn how to integrate and innovate the ideas, thinking, and services that have been brewing these past few years.

Dozens of new online health companies were launched in the past 24 months and if you were at the Health 2.0 Conference last September, then you too felt the momentum that has been building ever since in our space.

We're feeling these trends take shape in big ways at our own OrganizedWisdom Health, but we know it is still very early.  There's a lot of work to do in 2008 (and 2009, 2010, etc.) and we look forward to helping bridge the gap between Health 2.0 and "Health Care".

 

Request a WisdomCard on Any Health Topic, Doctor, or Health Organization

Great news: Our WisdomCard library is growing faster than planned as a result of the success of our Guide Program and the experts who have joined our team in the past few weeks.  We now have over 1,000 health topics covered and our team of full and part-time guides and physicians are already covering hundreds of new health topics each week.

As you may have noticed, we're beginning to feature some of our WisdomCards on this blog as well as on our new Twitter feed here.

What we're really excited about, is we are starting to introduce new types of WisdomCards that we think will be very helpful to anyone searching for health information of involved in health care (medical professionals, patients, health organizations, health marketers, foundations, etc.).

So now as a new service, you can now request we create a WisdomCard on any health condition, treatment, doctor, hospital, health product, or health related company or organization and our team of physician guided search advocates will do the searching for you and build you a WisdomCard.
 
As an example, if you are an MD, then you know the first place your patients go to find out more about you is the search engines.  If you care at all about your GoogleRank, then it might be a good time to make sure there is a WisdomCard created on you, your areas of specialty, your hospital, etc. Just let us know by contacting us here with the exact name or topic in the subject line.  You and your patients can also contribute by suggesting links to add to your WisdomCard page.

Here's an example of a recent WisdomCard we are working on for Dr. Alan Greene from DrGreene.com. 

Once your WisdomCard is live, you'll be able to promote it by sharing it with patients, linking to it from your Website or blog, and also suggest important links we may have missed. 

And if you are a patient, or are doing research on any new health topic that we do not yet cover, just let us know.  We'll start working on your WisdomCard right away.

We think this will be a very useful service and hopefully help a lot of people so we welcome your feedback as we roll grow it over the coming months.

Send your requests here.

Anxiety WisdomCard may be good for your heart

Today's news tells us that anxiety may increase the risk of a heart attack, especially in men. But everyone is anxious sometimes -- so what kind of anxiety really does damage? The Anxiety WisdomCard pulls together the best available information on this condition.

The good news? Anxiety is treatable, and this WisdomCard can help you get started finding help if you need it, or better understand this condition and how it affects others in your life.

Important WisdomCard on Lung Cancer

In memory of my Grandfather Hughes, I wanted to share this particularly important WisdomCard one of our Guides created on the topic of Lung Cancer.  When I first found out a few weeks ago that he was diagnosed with with cancer, this WisdomCard was invaluable to me and my family as we searched the Web to find out more information and better understand the situation.

I am thankful to be a part of building something that will truly have a positive impact by helping so many people better manage their health. Everyone needs a health advocate in times like these, and our goal with OrganizedWisdom Health is to help make sure that everyone has access to these types of resources in the future so they can save valuable time getting the best information, resources and services possible.

Please take a look at our Lung Cancer WisdomCard here.