by Tony Chen

I'm here at the Consumer Health World Conference in Chicago, IL. Though at first the crowd seemed a bit sparse, it is shaping up to be an interesting conference. Smaller conferences with the right people make for very productive networking and conversations.

Today Nick Jacobs and I spoke at a session about Blogging & Social Media for Providers (after hundreds of emails and phone calls, this was the 1st time Nick and I have met face to face!). Thanks again to all for attending. As promised, here's my list of top 10 sites to check out as we think about the impact of social media on providers.

1. Nick Jacobs' Blog - the first hospital CEO with a blog recently posted about his "journey to web 2.0" - he shares how he almost got fired for his blog. Good thing he didn't.
2. Running a Hospital - Paul Levy (CEO of urban hospital in Boston) takes transparency to the next level, asking the public if he makes too much money and posting the intimate details for their plans and quality metrics.
3. Hospital Impact - One day, Hospital Impact will truly be community, a two-way street, where best practices in hospital leadership can be shared more quickly, thoughtfully, and practically.
4. ratemd.com - 100,000+ doctors rated by patients, is yours?
5. Revolution Health - ratings for doctors, hospitals, and health plans + shopping comparisons + tools to keep your medical records & insurance straight. This is Steve Case's bet that consumer-driven healthcare is the next big thing.
6. Carepages - Patients can blog from their hospital bed about their hospital experience and their experience with their disease.
7. patientslikeme.com - a very powerful patient community whereby patients with the same illnesses can share notes AND compare test results. There's no way we could provide this kind of support for these specific patients, so shouldn't we providers be enthusiastically referring patients to this?
8. webmd.com - Everyone goes to WebMD for their medical information now (they've even recently come out with a magazine that sits in physician waiting rooms). Attention physicians: Find out what your patients are reading (and what they're being coached to ask you) before their physician visit.
9. The Paris Site - I'm somewhat hesitant to link to this site, as I'm sure they will comment on this. We talked about the "horror stories." A group of bloggers have been very vocal about the hospital's quality and performance - so much so that they've been sued by hospital.
10. Dr. Wes - A specialist who blogs that has actually gained referrals from his blog.

In addition, check out my "consumer's guide to health 2.0 sites" post.

The bottom line is exactly what Nick said this afternoon - blogging and social media will never become mainstream within healthcare. Nonetheless, the brave ones that do authentically and purposely engage their community, their patients, and their employees will reap the benefits of the collective intelligence, collaboration, and good will of all.

What were your main take-aways from today's conference?