WASHINGTON DC, USA -- HEALTHCARE UPDATE NEWS SERVICE™ -- OCTOBER 20, 2008: Less than 2 weeks to go till the biggest and most exciting Health 2.0 User-Generated Healthcare conference yet on October 22-23rd in San Francisco!

SIGN UP NOW -- For more details and to register click here.

Health 2.0 is the groundbreaking conference that showcases cutting edge web technologies and how they are transforming health care. You'll see action-packed, live demos of innovative tools and services and have a chance to network with nearly a thousand other healthcare and tech industry professionals.

Conference highlights include... keynote from net guru Clay Shirky, update on Health 2.0 from Matthew Holt & Indu Subaiya, the new documentary The Great American Health 2.0 Tour, starring David Kibbe, and a first look at Health 2.0 Innovations Around the World.

Plus we've been dropped the odd hint that there'll be exciting announcements from many companies, possibly including Sermo, Keas, United HealthGroup, Google, and Yahoo!.

We are still announcing late-breaking and exciting updates to the Health 2.0 Community, the agenda and the conference.

Health 2.0 Network goes live on Monday!
It wouldn’t be a Web 2.0 Conference without a social network. There are already over 1,200 people on our Health 2.0 Facebook group, and nearly 1,000 in the Linkedin group. Both are great ways to stay on top of developments in Health 2.0. But for more direct, high-impact conversations and connections, we are introducing for the first-time an attendee-only Health 2.0 network. Think of it like a mini-Linkedin for the Health 2.0 community that actually helps you connect with people here all year round.

Attendees of Health 2.0's of the past as well as current attendees will be able to arrange business meetings at the conference, message their contacts, and stay in touch via email and phone. Detailed profiles will also allow you to tell the community about yourself, your organization and your interests. But you can only get into the Health 2.0 Network if you sign up to attend the conference. So if you've registered for the conference already, stay tuned for an invitation. And if you haven't registered, what are you waiting for?!

CNN goes Health 2.0
After last week's New York Times article featuring Health 2.0, this week, CNN health correspondent Elizabeth Cohen covers the patient social networking space and features Indu, Matthew & Health 2.0 (Yes, we're sending this one to our mothers too!)

IDEO's Design Challenge (limited space available)
World-renowned design experts, IDEO, will be running a design challenge for a limited number of lucky attendees! Stay tuned for an invite.

Launch!
We are very excited to help a selected number of companies debut new products and services to the wider Health 2.0 community for the first time. We have had many more applicants than expected and have finally narrowed down the presenters. Expect to see innovation on all fronts - from search, to tools to communities; from some new entrants and one or two big names.

The Great American Health 2.0 Motorcycle Tour
David Kibbe has wrapped up his nationwide tour of Health 2.0 visiting with innovative companies in Boston, NYC, Chattanooga, and the Bay Area! Read about his stop in San Francisco and Mountainview here. And don't miss the premiere of the complete film, produced by Emmy-award winners Scribe Media at Health 2.0.

Health 2.0 Around the Globe
Wear your Sunday best because CNN will be sending a crew. ABC News, the NYT and the WSJ and many more are all coming too. (We're kidding about the Sunday best--Health 2.0 is still business casual!)

The Health 2.0 Experiential Lounge
In the center of the exhibit hall, find an oasis to relax and explore multimedia, video and interactive exhibits while sipping coffee or a martini (depending on the time of day!). You can play with the Wii-fit, handle some new healthcare iPhone apps, walk into a recreated Hello Health clinic and try out the first exercise bike, from Expresso Fitness that sends data to a website for tracking goals and progress. If you have a product or technology to share with the Health 2.0 community that warrants getting up close and personal, contact john@health2con.com for more info., but at this point, just exhibits that require very little space please, as we are filled up!

Late breaking additions to the agenda!
New additions include--UnitedHealth Group's entry into Health 2.0; Vita Cassese, VP of WorldWide Innovation at Pfizer joins the Business of Health 2.0 panel; 4 companies will show real-world solutions to the privacy conundrum to go along with Markle's brand new presentation where we will follow a piece of data as it goes through the world wide maze of the healthcare system.

Meet the Press!
Wear your Sunday best because CNN will be sending a crew. ABC News, the NYT and the WSJ and many more are all coming too. (We're kidding about the Sunday best--Health 2.0 is still business casual!)

Health 2.0 Accelerator
From Marty Tenenbaum's first announcement of a Commerce.net-like technology consortium for Health 2.0, into an effort that is already 90 companies strong and spans 7 countries, the Health 2.0 accelerator led by Julie Murchinson of Mannatt Health has taken off! We've launched a wiki and held the first in a series of conference calls to discuss the future of this organization. Plug in at www.health2accelerator.org to get involved. The first collaborative project around sharing Rx data will be unveiled at the conference!

Register now for Health 2.0 - cli ck here

You'll see demos and hear insights from the following confirmed speakers:

All this and much more...
Sponsored Deep Dive sessions from American Well, Medencentive, and Edelman Worldwide--who'll be showing results from their brand new Health Engagement Barometer 5 country survey.

Audience favorite, the Health 2.0 Unconference, will be back, giving you a chance to get to have your say and meet your fellow Health 2.0-ers in depth.

Networking parties both nights in the buzzing exhibit hall.

Nearly 1,000 attendees, over 100 companies presenting & exhibiting, and possibly the most intelligent analysis of where the future of innovation in health care is going.

If you go to one health care event this year, make sure it's Health 2.0.
We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco!

SIGN UP NOW -- For more details and to register click here.

Exhibiting and Sponsorship at Health 2.0:
A few limited spaces are left in the exhibit hall where the Health 2.0 community will mill around to network, eat and drink. And you can still sponsor a networking break or a panel. Please contact John Pluenneke at john@health2con.com for more details.

Press & Media at Health 2.0:
Health 2.0 has always had great coverage in the trade and business press and online on blogs and with videos from our friends at icyou. We're expecting even more press coverage this time around. If you want to get a press pass, please email Matthew Holt for details.

Register now for Health 2.0 - click here