{"id":9150,"date":"2011-05-11T12:34:57","date_gmt":"2011-05-11T17:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pmedicine.org\/epatients\/?p=9150"},"modified":"2011-05-13T11:38:19","modified_gmt":"2011-05-13T16:38:19","slug":"map-the-frontier-bring-data-more-coming-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/participatorymedicine.org\/epatients\/2011\/05\/map-the-frontier-bring-data-more-coming-soon.html","title":{"rendered":"Map the frontier. Bring data. (More coming soon!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pew Internet Project<\/a> and California HealthCare Foundation<\/a> will <\/span>released our latest report on the internet’s impact on health and health care tonight at midnight (Eastern U.S. time). It is titled, “The Social Life of Health Information, 2011<\/a>” (and for those following closely, that is a hint that we are updating trends we first measured in our 2009 report<\/a> by the same name).<\/p>\n

The report contains some data I have been itching to share with this community for months. In fact, I couldn’t resist previewing a bit of it at Mobile Health 2011<\/a> last week. Here’s the text of what I said, just to whet your appetite for the full course of fresh data:<\/p>\n

The Web 2.0 Summit backdrop last fall was an imaginary map of the online world and the territories that have been claimed by different companies.<\/p>\n

Mark Zuckerberg came on stage and said,<\/p>\n

Your map is wrong. The biggest part of the map has got to be uncharted territory. This map makes it seem like it\u2019s zero-sum, but it\u2019s not. We\u2019re building value, not just taking it away from other companies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The first thing that struck me about his comment was that it embodies the idealism that I see all the time in this industry. Leave aside the cut-throat attitude and billion dollars for a moment and think about what his statement means for you, for all of us.<\/p>\n

We know something important is out there, and it is big, it is potentially world-changing and we are idealistic enough and brave enough to believe we can prepare for it and even take advantage of it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The second thing that struck me is that a map of the health world would be similar. For most people, it is unmapped, unfamiliar territory.\u00a0 As Susan Sontag wrote:<\/p>\n

Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. Although we all prefer to use only the good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s not surprising that when someone gets dropped into the kingdom of the sick, they grab their phones, they grab their laptops, they grab their loved ones, and they go. They go into that unmapped area of a new diagnosis, a new drug, a new treatment, a new goal to lose weight, quit smoking, or get their numbers under control. They consult experts. They call & search & text. They study up. They band together and form posses. Pioneers share their maps with newcomers, letting them know which clinical centers are the best for a certain condition. They post warnings, such as the one brought to us by PatientsLikeMe last week when they published their findings<\/a> from a patient-driven clinical trial: no, lithium does not<\/strong> stop the progression of ALS. It\u00a0was bad news for people living with ALS, but good news for the field,\u00a0proving that patient-driven research is valid.\u00a0And the number one thing that people try to do? To get the hell out of the kingdom of the sick.<\/p>\n

Who in this room is going to help them? Who in this room is developing something that is going to change lives? And what are you<\/span><\/strong> bringing on the adventure?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m bringing data \u2013 on internet use, cell phone and wireless penetration, demographics of who\u2019s online and who\u2019s not, people\u2019s attitudes and actions. I\u2019m bringing data and so should you.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

Because data will help you make better decisions. Data will chart your course. Data will show you what really works.<\/p>\n

The Pew Internet Project is a GPS for navigating this emerging world.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with some bedrock data. This is the equivalent of Europe in the 15th<\/sup> century \u2013 completely mapped out. The known world of internet use, especially as it pertains to mobile & health.<\/p>\n

Three-quarters of U.S. adults go online.<\/p>\n

Six in ten U.S. adults gather health info online. But doctors, nurses, and other health professionals continue to be the first choice for most people with health concerns.<\/p>\n

59% of U.S. adults go online wirelessly, with a laptop, mobile device or tablet.<\/p>\n

Three key points about wireless:<\/p>\n