Archive for October 23rd, 2007

Disconvergence in Online Communities

October 23, 2007

In an article by Thomas H. Lee M.D. on iHealthbeat, he discusses the momentum around online health communities and  “Will the movement be completely disruptive to the health system and obviate the need for clinicians altogether?”
He notes that these communities “all exhibit the unexpected power of decentralizing knowledge, creativity and connectivity.” But will not likely replace the patient-physician relationship. He creates the term “Disconvergent Fluidity” by which he means  the  ebb and flow of online communities – here today, gone tomorrow.  While  these communities have a wealth of information on individual experiences  in health care are they enough of  a revolution to solve real problems in health care.  Will the critical mass be there and sustain itself  toward real change?

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