Health 2.0: Reformation, not revolution
A special report in The Economist likens the “Health2.0” patient empowerment movement to the way the Reformation opened up the Church in the 16th century.
“Traditional paternalistic relationships between patients and doctors are being undermined in much the same way as the religious Reformation of the 16th century empowered the laity and threatened the 1,000-year-old hierarchy of the Catholic church in Europe.”
Joanne Shaw
Importantly, the article focuses attention not simply on technical innovations such as Google Health or Patients Like Me, but on the social role of an involved and informed ‘citizen patient’.
I’ve argued before that it is this side of the movement which holds the most promise. Specific tools are great news for savvy users, the kind who already get pretty good treatment from the health service. It is the socialisation of empowerment that offers real opportunity for improving the service as a whole.
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