I attended Matthew Holt’s second Health 2.0 conference earlier this week and published some thoughts on the confab at the blog of a client, eDrugSearch.com. (”Health 2.0″ equals Web 2.0 plus healthcare, as you might have guessed.)

Here are a few of my observations about the event, which should give you a sense of how far we still have to go in many verticals:

• There weren’t many doctors there. There were a few — some of them, like a young visionary named Dr. Jay Parkinson, doing remarkable things. But he was one of a handful in attendance. (Erick and Linda from PharmaSurveyor wore some cool mad-scientist lab coats at Monday’s cocktail party — but they aren’t physicians.)
• There weren’t many big healthcare players there, either. Sure, Johnson & Johnson was a sponsor, but the vibe was a little like GM’s interest in the electric car; do they really want to help lead this movement — or just monitor and contain it? (A side note: A J&J official, addressing attendees at a cocktail party J&J sponsored, announced that alcohol is a social lubricant, “as opposed to KY, which is a different kind of lubricant.” A plug’s a plug, I guess.)
• Even some bloggers who consider themselves experts on medical technology weren’t at this conference and didn’t want to be.

And yet, despite the sneers and snubs, I now believe more strongly than ever that Health 2.0 is the disruptive innovation that is going to turn the U.S. healthcare system on its head — and ultimately, save it from itself.

Health 2.0 will give doctors more time with patients. Health 2.0 will give patients control over their own health records. Health 2.0 will eliminate those annoying clipboard moments at the doctor’s office. Health 2.0 will make sure we don’t mix the wrong drugs. Health 2.0 will give people access to “been-there buddies” who can provide the support they need during the darkest periods of their lives.

And Health 2.0 can help people to save money on prescription drugs, too. What we’ve seen so far is just the beginning.