Towards health 2.0: mashups to the rescue

Over the past few years, we have witnessed a rise in the use of the web for health purposes. Patients have begun to manage their own health data online, use health-related services, search for information, and share it with others. The cooperation of healthcare constituents towards making collaboration platforms available is known today as Health 2.0. The significance of Health 2.0 lies in the transformation of the patient from a healthcare consumer to an active participant in a new environment. We analyze the trend and propose mashups as a leading technology for the integration of relevant data, services, and applications. We present Medic-kIT, a mashup-based patient-centric Extended Personal Health Record system, which adheres to web 2.0 standards. We conclude by highlighting unique aspects that will have to be addressed to enable the development of such systems in the future.