Note: I had stopped writing posts in 2017. Started again in late-2024, mostly for AI.
Simply put, icyou is the Youtube of health-related videos. It launched around September 2007 by BenefitFocus, a Charleston (SC) based healthcare benefits software provider. The name icyou stands for 'Intensive Content for Your Health'...a twist on the actual ICUs (Intensive Care Units). Basic idea is for icyou to be the exchange hub for patients, providers and caregivers to share their stories...
Medpedia is an attempt to apply crowdsourcing concept to medical knowledge, just like Wikipedia. It launched in beta mid-February this year, with some big names backing it (Harvard, Stanford, NHS, AHA, ACP to name a few). The idea is to create a collaborative body of knowledge using physicians and Ph.Ds as gatekeepers. Anyone can contribute- physicians/Ph.Ds become directors editors (after...
Not much can be said about the whole healthcare social networking phenomenon now. There are plenty of sites out there, enough to make me almost give up trying to review all of them. But pioneers like MedHelp are worthwhile to talk about. MedHelp gives the (now) standard online community features to users looking for better information and support around thier medical problems. It was started...
Online communities are perhaps the cornerstone of web these days, and I'm begining to find so many of them related to health that I'm slowly running out of things to say around the topic. DailyStrength.org is a place for patients/family members to find others like them and anonymously connect, share and discuss all aspects of a particular disease or condition. From discussing the latest...
AskDrWiki is an online repository for medial information modeled after Wikipedia. The project was started in early 2007 by four physicians looking for a quick way to share review articles, notes and images in cardiology. The site is a grassroots effort, and geared towards clinical audience- residents, interns etc. Wiki's are a good way to organize collective wisdom in any field, so the concept...
Since my last rant was around twitter, I thought I'll follow up with another one around same topic. First notable thing about FoodFeed is that its not really useful (their own words, not mine). Its a service that lets you share your eating habits on twitter. They are still in beta so maybe other features are in pipeline, but honestly, FoodFeed seems to be a solution looking for a problem. So...
Another social networking take on healthcare- this one has a platform approach for multiple communities exclusively for providers and professionals in the life sciences and healthcare industry. Within3 aims to facilitate 'trusted relationships' amongst its members. What sets it apart from the usual networking websites is their business model (plus the fact that its aptly explained on a dedicated...
SpineConnect is a knowledge networking site for spine surgeons to collaborate and support each other on difficult cases. It is the first offering from Syndicom, an online services company focused on communication and collaboration platform for the orthopedic industry. Since its launch in early 2006, SpineConnect has gathered 1174 members from 38 countries with a knowledge base of over 900 cases...
Physician Connect is a new community area on Medscape that allows physicians to securely engage online with other physicians in discussions on clinical as well as non-clinical topics that are relevant to the practice of medicine. The site was launched early this year, and is claimed to have gathered 20,000 registrants since (according to their Q1 FY08 Earnings Call Transcript). I guess that is...
MyDailyApple is the consumer oriented website started in 2006 by Praxeon, a life sciences company focusing on semantic search for healthcare information. It brings together medical news, research, blogs, and multimedia around a disease or condition for its users. Besides searching for personalized health information in natural prose, MyDailyApple users can get relevant medical news and community...