HealthCamp goes international

Earlier this year, at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco, Health 2.0 made the agenda for the Web2Open un-conference track and the Birds of a Feather sessions. This generated a tremendous amount of interest. As I flew back from the event I wanted to make sure the enthusiasm didn't vanish. That lead to creating HealthCampMd then HealthCampDc and HealthCampNy. The enthusiasm seems to be catching. One of the attendees of HealthCampMd is now in the UK and is kicking off HealthCamp UK.

About 20 people participated in a Health 2.0 discussion at the recent BarCampRDU in Raleigh, NC. One of the consistent themes that comes across at these events is the bad experience people have when a serious medical event occurs. That experience manifests itself with a feeling of isolation.

One of the challenges of BarCamp is that conversations just get started and the next session kicks off. It can be a problem getting momentum established. Yes, there is an element of consensus building that needs to take place but it is important that we get a forward momentum and take action. But how do we take action? The problems are so massive and structural they appear as an insurmountable challenge.

This brings me back to a great session I participated in at BarCampRDU where Jim Meyer's "Leap of Faith" talk led me to this idea:

"Being part of a high performing team starts with ourselves"

"...So often in large organizations people feel helpless. They feel that they can't make a difference. Posing the question "What can I do to make a change?" is the first step to achieving exceptional performance.

We must stop worrying about how we can get the world, or our company, to change. Instead focus on the steps that we can personally take. By doing that we have taken the first critical step to becoming exceptional. Success in small ways becomes contagious.

Lead by example."

I need to remember this as future HealthCamps take place. Each article published and presentation made adds to the public consciousness. It all helps to build the wave of change.

I will challenge each attendee to consider what they can do to make the change they want to see happen. You have been warned!

We need to tap in to our social networks and use them for more than just poking and throwing sheep. Let's work out how to use social networks to encourage change. Let's band together and encourage each other.

We are not alone.

I encourage you to promote change in HealthCare. Let's work to make HealthCare more participatory. Let's network so that we know we are not alone.

There is some great technology emerging that can change HealthCare, not just HealthVault or Google Health but some of the open initiatives like Project VRM and the Higgins Open Source Identity Framework.

If you uncover a fascinating technology that is relevant to the HealthCare industry then point it out. Encourage the vendor to get involved with HealthCamp.