Patty Enrado

They might be late to the Health 2.0 party, they said. However, a panel of employers and healthcare insurers at the Health 2.0 conference on Monday made it clear they are ready to play.

"Health 2.0 has the promise to change the healthcare industry," the conference's opening keynote speaker Mark Smith, president of the California HealthCare Foundation, told the audience on Monday. Smith also asserted that health reform is necessary for innovation and vital to the success of Health 2.0 entrepreneurs' business model because the current system is set up to pay for volume.

One hundred patients with diabetes have signed up for a telemonitoring pilot spearheaded by HEALTHeLINK, the regional health information organization (RHIO) serving Western New York State. The nonprofit's innovative approach to telemonitoring could serve as a model for the rest of the nation, according to Todd Norris, Western New York Beacon Project Director.

Get ready for another day of demonstrations and information gathering in the Exhibit Hall.

Wednesday, November 38:00 AM CST Exhibit Hall Opens9:00-10:00 AM CST, Opening Keynote, "Achieving and Measuring Meaningful Use: A View from the Field," Judith A. Murphy, RN, FACMI, FHIMSS, vice president of Information Technology, Aurora Health Care Education Track: "Health Information Exchanges: Facilitating the Adoption of HIT"

Get ready to check out the latest health IT products and services in a relaxed environment. Explore the Exhibit Hall of the HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo in a comfortable chair.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida launched its new mobile web site less than three weeks ago, but early tracking reveals "encouraging" usage for both members and nonmembers.BCBSF expects to see firmer trends by the end of the third quarter 2010, but Adriana Murillo, director of strategic development, said BCBSF is "happy" with early usage data and the "excellent" feedback being given by consumers, providers and agents.