Better, and ‘healthier’ decision making through information technology: conference report from the Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco, September 2011

San Francisco served as the host city for the 5th Annual Health 2.0 conference on 25–27 September 2011, which gathered more than 1,500 people interested and actively involved in innovation in health care through information technology. The author attended this conference and in this paper is presenting key insights, concepts, and news from the cutting edge of Health 2.0: from new tools to redesign medical data; to synergistic interactions between web 2.0 tools and public health; to the use of the internet as a positive catalyst for behavioral change to improve health and lifestyle; to direct to consumer genetic testing that drive a new, community-driven approach to research and to electronic health records adoption and data liberation. The main thread linking all of these initiatives is a participatory approach to health that involves all relevant stakeholders: from patients and their families, to physicians and health professionals, to nurses and caregivers, to insurance and other health providers, working together toward the common aim of a better health care.