Newsweek talks about the potential of Web 2.0 applications in patient-physician communication. As it stands, current electronic records are archaic and lack transparency – I read somewhere it’s analogous to Windows 95 technology.
Patient-to-patient social networks are more advanced, and readily embraced by those with chronic disease. Can the transparency spread to physicians? Sure, but not until patient privacy regulations adapt to the rapidly evolving technology. If HIPAA casts a pall on simple tasks like e-mail and blogs, how can you expect doctors to readily adopt physician-patient social networks?
