There’s a relatively new site for patients called iHealthBuzz. It’s in the mix with the social networking sites that I keep the odd tabs on, and looks to try to take the disease specific list-servs up a level, although obviously its got a long way to go before it takes over from WebMD or YahooHealth. Is there a need for yet another health discussion venue? Judge for yourself but here’s founder Ellen’s take:

Our goal is to provide an anonymous (email address optional),friendly, useful, free, and trusted environment for those who are in search of health advice, support, and discussion. We are also nonprofit so we don’t try to sell anything at all. As we are a grassroots site that really has started out as a hobby for many of us who are interested in using the Internet to promote health. We created this site to help people. We want to make iHealthBuzz message boards better also. Any ideas will also help. We are here to provide a useful service.

Our goal: To build a busy virtual "cafe" or meeting place where people are connecting around health issues. We want them to share stories and help each other. We hope to create a buzz about health on the internet. Hence i-health-buzz as the name.