Everybody who would describe themselves as a "health / medical blogger" has a reason to be proud today. Can you take any field of human endeavor seriously without thick report tomes you can point to?

By this definition medical blogging was not serious till today. But now Fard Johnmar's 110-page report changes that.

Titled "The Healthcare Blogosphere: What Is It & Why Does It Matter?", the report looks into the influence of blogs on the healthcare industry stakeholders, including patients, healthcare professionals, pharma companies and non-profit groups. Readers of this report will learn:

• Who is blogging about healthcare and why they are doing it.
• Who the most prominent and prolific healthcare bloggers are.
• How healthcare blogs may impact the physician-patient relationship, treatment practices, consumer-driven healthcare, communications and more.
• Why pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, medical device manufacturers and hospitals have been slow to embrace blogs and why their fears may be misplaced.
• The pros and cons of blogs for healthcare non-profit organizations.
• How to learn about and track the healthcare blogosphere.
• How to start and maintain a successful organizational or individual blog.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I provided feedback to author for report development and a quote for press release. But at the hardcover book price of $36.95 I would recommend the report without reservation.

Medical blogging is leaving the infancy phase and entering the stage of growing early adoption. Many new arrivals to the field are looking at blogging as more than just hobby, but a professional opportunity. This has the feel of Old West and Internet circa 1994. This means the really interesting things are just beginning to unfold.

Considering how dramatically blogs and social media changed the rules of the game in politics, news and technology, there is no doubt that the real impact on healthcare is well on the way.