I have not been blogging much lately, having been heads down defining where Trusted.MD will go next. Last few months were eventful and brought plenty of news, feedback and ideas. Let me share a few here.

Last year, the implications of new internet technologies on healthcare (think blogging and social media!) have been noted by just a handful of people. This year seems like everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon.

This brought about plenty of speculation about how it will reflect on healthcare in the grand scheme of things, including the attack of the usual confusing "2.0" buzzword madness. But clearly there is a pony somewhere and something valuable and fundamental is hiding behind the clumsy verbiage.

Let's pull it out and find a definition that actually means something

First, I agree with Scott Shreeve who in his recent piece on Myopia 2.0 points to a difference between a technology and a movement and shortsigtedness of merely looking at "the impact of blogging and social networking". Technology, like different forms of social media can be an enabler to plenty of new applications in healthcare. But what this is really all about is how these new applications change the nature of health and health care delivery.

But what should THE MOVEMENT be about? What should be central?

Unfortunately I do not think Scott (or anyone else for that matter) goes far enough to  create a crisp definition. Definition should start with a name and "Health 2.0" is hopeless because it implies a blind ripoff of O'Reilly's Web 2.0. Behind the name there has to be a meaning - relevant to real people.

This definition is designed to go beyond merely the call to the existing healthcare system to recognize social media, as HealthTrain - the Open Healthcare Manifesto declared. This is about defining principles for a new system.

Enough introductions, let me just offer a raw definition:

People Powered Health(care) [PPH] is a movement to empower individuals to take care of their health, wellness and lifestyle needs by becoming co-producers of health services. Drawing on a combination of technological, medical and political innovations, the movement seeks to improve people's health, while transforming the existing healthcare system.

The full definition is very broad and by no means final. But I think it captures the promise of what is the real essence of "the next step" in health and health care.

The words matter and let me pick apart the meaning of the name:

• People: This means ALL people. We the people. Citizens. Human beings who have needs. Not just "consumers". Certainly not "patients". But this does not exclude "providers" or "professionals" either. They are just people who happen to have additional skills, training, certifications and licensing, whatever those might be. They are critical too.
• Powered: This describes the co-production nature of the health service delivery. People are partners and collaborators in taking care of their health needs. This is neither "physician directed" nor "consumer directed". Lack of "uni-directional control" means flexibility in combining professional opinion and wisdom of the crowds.
• Health(care): In the end the goal is improving health outcomes, which encompasses every definition of health, including wellness. (care) suffix refers to impacting the organized delivery systems. That is the part that suggests a new way of thinking about what health and healthcare is.

The second part of the definition talks about " technological, medical and political innovations" that enable PPH. Blogging and social media are among those, but are by no means exhaustive. The breadth of what is possible makes the People Powered Health(care) a truly large tent with plenty of opportunity to contribute and do well by doing good. We are going to revisit this definition and provide examples over the coming weeks and months.

A note about intellectual propery rights

I am going to trademark the term "People Powered Health(care)" (TM) (with all variations of "health" and "care"). This is a reluctant step to help protect value of the brand label. Last time around after coining Open Medicine, I found the term stolen by a fellow healthcare blogger for eponymous medical journal with nary of an attribution, but a departure from the concept's intent.

BUT, this is not intended to restrict the spread and usage of the term. Feel free to use the term non-commercially with proper attribution (to this post). However if you want to create an informational product (think books, conferences or teleseminars) - give me a call and I am sure we'll find a way to do it.

If trademarks are good enough for protecting the Linux and Burning Man movements, People Powered Health(care) could use them too

Let's go ahead and create a movement! Questions, comments, ideas.