I went to the Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco last week and thought that I’d share some of my thoughts with you about the experience. It was the first time that I’ve been and it was abuzz with people all very interested in health and technology.
What is Health 2.0? 
Basically, Health 2.0 is the idea of incorporating social media elements, modern design, interface, and technology into the world of health. For those of you that have ever worked with an insurance company, you are keenly aware that many of the systems that are used are extremely antiquated. It is the movement to modernize the care, delivery, education, and operations within the entire health care delivery system encompassing the entire chain from providers to billers to patients to employers.
Why does Health 2.0 matter to employers?
Employers and Benefits colleagues – You all need to step up your game a little bit and pay attention to Health 2.0. Why? It is simply where all of the innovation is happening in health and wellness. These are the game changers (and wannabe game changers) that are challenging the status quo and trying something new.
What was cool? 
Teladoc
From an employer perspective – the best find at Health 2.0 was Teladoc. For all the employers, look at your insurance data. First look at the usage of your Nurse Line. Then look at your numbers of avoidable emergency room and urgent care visits. Want to reduce those costs by more than half? Then check out Teladoc.
Basically, for $40/visit, you get access directly to a physician via your mobile phone – in any state your employees happen to be in. Think of how many avoidable ER visits, particularly for new parents, and how much time saved for your employees. It’s a win – win in my opinion. The trick will be getting your insurer to accept it as a legitimate claim – but that shouldn’t be that hard to figure out.
CastLight Health
CastLight isn’t new but their product is pretty awesome. It’s great for anyone with a high-deductible health plan. It tracks the amount that the individual or family has paid year to date toward the deductible and gives pricing estimates on procedures and doctors. It also incorporates quality information, physician profile, and physician reviews. It’s a pretty useful tool for employers to use to equip their employees with the possibility of actually figuring out pricing.
Speakers
What was lame? 
This is where I get to talk about ‘me too’ products. There were a lot of wellness related products that featured a Facebook-like interface and some game mechanics. And I mean A LOT. It got tiring looking at variations on a theme. I was more surprised that this many similar products received VC funding. I think that perhaps the VCs need to do a little more due diligence in the health space.
Having written about my perspectives on the gamification of wellness previously, I’m not a huge fan of the movement. So I don’t want to disparage any of these companies or their product – they may be a great fit for your culture. However, I am listing several of them just so that you can get an idea of the number of companies showing off their product. The sad part is that I know that I missed at least 5 others. It was definitely a reoccurring theme.
Social Games for Wellness
Zamzee – at least targeted specifically to kids
numera|social - specifically built as a Facebook app
What I’d like to see next year?
I’d like to see a little bit more variety in the products being sold to employers. Pretty please! But similarly, I’d also like to see a few more employers participating so that the entrepreneurs are getting some feedback from people who would be their actual customer base.
Other than that – keep innovating. The world needs it!
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