Healthy Conversations
Imagining & Creating New Value For Health Brands & Consumers

I wrote a post last month about PatientsLikeMe, a wonderful organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of patients diagnosed with life-changing diseases after they were recognized by Fast Company as #2 on the list of the top ten most innovative healthcare companies. 

It was co-founded by Ben and Jamie Heywood after their brother Stephen (who has since passed away) was diagnosed with ALS. At it’s core, it is “an ingenious website where people share and track data on their illnesses – and where the collective data has enormous power to comfort, explain and predict.”

Here’s a video of a talk by Jamie last October at TED. It’s about his brother, their company, the community they’re building/have built, and the possibilities for the future. Above all else, it’s a wonderful and inspiring story.

The traditional doctor/patient visit has just moved to a virtual office via the web.

As of last week, Hawaii residents can pay a flat fee for a 10-minute online visit with a doctor. While the brief interaction won’t be able to address more complicated and emergency-based medical situations, it is an efficient way to handle more routine requirements and patient queries.

Forgetting the questions regarding possible abuse that come to mind, it’s a strong advancement that benefits both patient and doctor and plays into the inherent advantages that the web has to offer. Read the article Hawaii tries out online health care