UsableMarkets

Friends of the blog suggest a couple items of interest.

1. First, Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, writer of the ever popular Health Populi blog, has just published a report called The Wisdom of Patients: Health Care Meets Online Social Media. The report addresses issues around the new social networking sites that focus on health issues, but also begins to take a look at “what’s next for social networks and health?”

So, you might ask, what is next? The answer: “The evolution of social media in health will be driven by the growing demand for transparency and openness.”

Somehow I’m not surprised. As I’ve said: with the internet, whatever can be transparent will be.

2. Secondly, Mona Lori of OutOfPocket.com, recently announced that the site has added a search engine to make finding healthcare costs easier. From the press release:

OutofPocket.com, a technology startup dedicated to promoting health care transparency and competition, announced today the launch of its new search engine. The search engine enables consumers to look up prices and comparison shop for health care services by searching for price data across different websites.

As always, we’re hoping OutOfPocket.com succeeds. It’s just what the doctor ordered.

~alex