Web 2.0 - Future QI

From what I understand, Web 2.0 is “second generation” of the web that we currently have. I did some research and found out that this web might appear on many types of screens ranging from a cell phone to a microwave! This type of advance is bound to be helpful in healthcare QI which involves hospitalists, hospital settings, patients, and more. In three years, I feel that every patient room in a hospital will have a TV featuring Web 2.0 for the patient. Also, I feel that this program would reach the PDAs of hospitalists and other health professionals. Through this web, the doctor and patient could share information through this improved form of communication. Also doctors may communicate with each other through this web on their PDAs, improving the communication of patient information between each other. This is a great advance to improve the c0-management between a doctor that is a specialist and a hospitalist, for the betterment of their services to the patient. Also, if a hospitalist is unsure of a topic, he may also easily look it up online. Considering the characteristics of Web 2.0, the information that the hospitalist will look up will most likely be updated to the max. Web 2.0 also offers secure information sharing which could really boost patient confidentiality- something that is important in QI. In terms of Pharmacoeconomics, Web 2.0 may also leave a beneficial impact because determining which drugs to include in a hospital formulary requires updated research that can be easily found through the advanced web program. Overall, I see doctors and health professionals making moves because of Web 2.0. I also see health professionals becoming very dependent on Web 2.0 in improving QI. Web 2.0 will be widely used in hospital settings and will certainly improve QI efforts.