Moderated by Indu Subaiya, Big Data: Tools and Applications for Individuals showcased the technology companies are creating to harness consumer data in order to make more informed decisions regarding health care.  Anthony Begando represented SEER Health as the session sponsor. Speakers included Marvin Ammori, Jerry Sheehan, and Ben Wolin, joined by demos from ESRI, Treato, Moving Analytics, Withings, and MedHelp.

John de Souza, CEO of MedHelp is well known for coming on stage and sharing online health community tools, trackers, and data visualizations.  This year he shared the latest – a partnership with Health Diagnostic Laboratory. They’ve created a simple blood analysis that can unlock critical information about an individual’s health profile including their risk for certain diseases or sensitivity to certain medications.

MedHelp is a web-based online health community that has big user numbers, big name partners and lots of organic growth with–as John often points out–no bought traffic. In recent years they’ve included trackers for multiple conditions and now have over 4 million people contributing data from them. John will show us a great visualization of the data collected from their initial results.

A roundtable discussion and audience discussion with companies about data and research use. See demos from companies that heavily use data and hear their first-hand experiences and lessons learned.

John De Souza, CEO, MedHelp
John is the Ethiopian-born CEO of MedHelp, the online health community that has big user numbers, big name partners and lots of organic growth with– as John often points out – no bought traffic. John has been on GE’s HealthyMagination Advisory board and MedHelp has worked with GE on developing several tracking apps, including I’m Expecting. He’s been in Health 2.0 so long that when he was at Goldman Sachs, they were still good guys!

We brought back our popular Fireside Chat session from the 2011 San Diego Spring Fling! Each discussion is linked to the next.  You’ll get 15 minute bursts of thought provoking, and possibly controversial conversations!

3 CEOs from companies transforming, and being transformed by Health 2.0, in conversations about the future of their businesses. Jeff Arnold (CEO, Sharecar) is interviewed by Elizabeth Coen from CNN, Giovanni Colella (CEO, Castlight Health), is interviewed by  Claire Cain Miller from the NYTimes, and John de Souza (CEO, MedHelp) is interviewed by  Jane Sarasohn-Kahn from Health Populi .

John de Souza, CEO, MedHelp

Jane Sarasohn-Kahn interviews John about his sixteen-year-old company, MedHelp. The company has quietly and organically seen its communities and Q&A forums with institutions like Cleveland Clinic & Vanderbilt grow to around 10 million monthly visitors. MedHelp has also added the ability for patients to track many aspects of their health, and now is working with GE on developing more tracking apps, including I’m Expecting, and John is on the HealthyMagination Advisory board.

MedHelp is an ideal subject for a Health 2.0 case study due to its spectacular growth. CEO John de Souza spoke  at Spring Fling: Matchpoint Boston (May 14-15, 2012), a conference focused on Health 2.0 partnerships and growth strategies, about his company’s successful partnership with GE.