The present piece of research deals with the use of Web 2.0 applications within the health care market. When reviewing literature it became evident that up to now, research which has been conducted in this field is rather limited to single aspects of the topic. Comprehensive research investigating the topic as a whole could not be properly identified. Within this study, first of all, Web 2.0 is introduced in general, including a definition, its principles, as well as major supportive technologies and common applications, for example blogs, communities, virtual worlds and podcasts are outlined in detail. Since Web 2.0 is a rather young phenomenon, experts have not yet agreed on a common definition and scope. Therefore this part is intended to provide a basis for common understanding about Web 2.0. The second part is dedicated to the health care market itself. Here, a definition and classification of the market is provided. In this context it has been specified what has been included into its scope for the purpose of this study. Moreover, it is given an overview of current trends, the status quo, as well as an outlook to future development with respect to influencing factors like demographic changes, medical-technological progress, as well as political interventions. It is important to consider the structure and future development of the health care market in order to properly assess the value of Web 2.0 for this market. Afterwards, Web 2.0 is introduced to the health care market, thereby setting it into the context of e-health, the increasing virtualization and other related terms like Medicine 2.0” or Patient 2.0”. Subsequently, possible applications and their value are discussed for the different stakeholder groups that have been identified as health care consumers, health care providers, and health care payer. It is depicted in depth which benefits can be obtained from the single applications. Majorly, it turned out that patients may have greatest benefits in the fields of information search and interaction with like-minded people, while health care providers may use such applications for collaboration and exchange of professional information in the majority of cases. Health care payers might draw greatest benefit in the field of customer-tailored marketing, as well as customer interaction and education. Afterwards, the common advantages and disadvantages that are valid for all health-related Web 2.0 applications are discussed. Here it is positively pointed to cost reduction and revenue increase effects, efficiency and quality gains, as well as patient empowerment on the one hand and negatively pointed to data quality and reliability issues, data security and protection, as well as limitations to access, on the other hand. The following chapter provides an overview of the legal framework for Web 2.0 applications in health care, outlining major legal difficulties with respect to general, internet-related, and health-related laws and regulations. The penultimate chapter gives an insight into the assessment of this topic in practice. Here the results of the conducted expert interviews are presented, lighting this topic from an individual perspective. To finalize the research work a conclusion will be given, including a future outlook.

Text Sample: Chapter 5.2, What Do Others Think: Patient Communities & Networks: Nowadays, a huge number of different patient communities / networks can be found on the Web, some of them being more general and / or including many sub-groups, others being dedicated to a specific illness only. All have in common that they provide a place for patients with similar interests, enabling them to connect to fellows, thereby building up a virtual network. In addition, the way of communicating, interacting, and exchanging information with peer friends is eased. Of course, social networks are intended to facilitate new connections to people sharing the same interests, as well. Research has found indications that A stable and supportive social network improves health outcomes for people with a wide range of conditions […]. In addition, social networks have a palliative effect on preoperative pain and anxiety”. To gain an impression, a small selection of examples of patient communities and networks are outlined in Appendix II. Patient communities are especially valuable to these who suffer from a chronic or rare disease since here virtual networks sometimes constitute the only possibility to find fellow sufferers and to exchange experiences with them, thereby gaining valuable hints and tips. These people can resort to a wide international variety of perspectives and experiences by using patient communities which would offline not be the case. When dealing with patient communities / networks O´Reilly´s concept of the wisdom of the crowds” has a strong effect (see also Chapter 2.2.2). The value of information increases disproportionately high with the number of patients sharing their experiences, information, ideas, symptoms and treatment options. Therefore it can be stated that a patient network lives on its members, even the best network is worthless when it is used by a few number of people only. When comparing face-to-face (F2F) self-help groups (i.e. real life meetings with fellow sufferers), with virtual patient communities / networks it becomes obvious that benefits of virtual communities go far beyond those of F2F ones. Of course, virtual communities also incorporate exclusive disadvantages which cannot be found in F2F groups. Therefore the net benefit has to be weighted. However, if patients are educated about risks and benefits and how to behave in the virtual world, if they adapt to certain rules for online behavior and keep a critical attitude, knowing that not all information found on the WWW must be true, it can be expected that benefits are significant and outweigh risks and disadvantages. The following table provides a comparison of advantages and disadvantages in summary, thereby outlining the differences in F2F self-help groups and virtual patient communities/networks (Table 6).

• Web 2.0

• Social Media

• Health Care

• Virtualization

• Internet

• Patient

Sabrina Sturm, M.A., was born 1984 in Wiesbaden. After finishing her Bachelor's Degree in International Hospitality and Tourism Management at the International University of Applied Sciences in Bad Honnef/Bonn, she decided to further develop her academic knowledge by obtaining a Master's Degree. The author studied Innovation Management with a focus on health care at the University of Applied Sciences in Ludwigshafen. She successfully completed her studies in 2010 with the degree Master of Arts. During her studies and external seminars the author recognized the complexity of the health care market and the resulting need for professional communication and interaction. Moreover, the author gained profound practical knowledge in the field of marketing during her studies. Therefore she expected it to be particularly fascinating to analyze the potential(s) for modern and innovative marketing and communication in the digital age and Web 2.0. Since then the author spends time on this topic with great engagement.