Medicine 2.0 or Health 2.0 are terms used to describe the massive Internet-sharing of health and medical information among everyone with interest, from health and medical professionals, to patients, to caregivers, to the businesses (pharmaceutical manufacturers, health insurance) which support them.
The "2.0" designation refers to the second generation of web-information; that is, anyone participates. Not just for the professionals (as 1.0 was), anyone with a computer and access to the Internet may present their own ideas and information, comment on others' ideas and information, or in some cases (like wikis) may even change others' ideas and information.
This sharing takes place through online support groups and forums, blogs and wikis, social networking (like Facebook or MySpace), tagging and social bookmarking (like Digg or Stumbleupon), and RSS (really simple syndication).
The two terms, Medicine 2.0 and Health 2.0, are often used interchangeably. However, there is a distinction. Medicine 2.0 usually refers to the science of medicine and the practice of treating or curing patients. Health 2.0 is focused on the business of health in general including the delivery, the quality, the safety and the cost or efficiency of the people, a practice or facility.
