Two health care providers conquer the Web
Two health care providers conquer the Web
Personalized information is key to success
If you build it, they will come. That’s what Adventist Health/Southern California found when it set up a Web site 1½ years ago. At the beginning of 1998, the Los Angeles-based integrated delivery system’s Web site averaged 150 distinct "hits" (the number of times different users looked at the site) per week. By the end of the year, the weekly hits were up to 600, and the number continues to grow, says Misti Vazquez, communication manager.
"More people want to find health information on-line, and we felt we needed to do the Web site to keep up with that demand," Vazquez says. "We’ve found that it’s another good way to market our system and another vehicle to build relationships with patients. It positions us as innovative, as willing to embrace new technology."
The Adventist Health site (www.ah-sc.com) won an APEX ’98 Award of Excellence last year from Communication Concepts, the Springfield, VA-based firm that recognizes excellence in publication work by professional communicators. A look at the site explains why.
Besides providing information on the network and its five hospitals, the site offers some innovative features, including:
• find-a-doctor, a searchable database of primary care physicians;
• patient e-mail, a service that allows users to create a card with a personalized message to send to a hospital patient using fax machines at the hospital;
• job search, a database of current job listings;
• health tips, wellness articles, and vegetarian recipes.
The second phase planned for the Web site includes interactive elements such as physician/ patient e-mail and an on-line gift shop.
To put the Web site together and keep it updated, the system formed an Internet task force that meets regularly to develop guidelines and oversee the site. It’s a full-time job managing the site: Vazquez spends about one-quarter of her time managing the Web site, with the rest of the work picked up by a freelance Web master and graphic design team.
Another provider Web site that’s picking up traffic is from San Francisco-based Blue Shield of California. Mylifepath.com, the health plan’s Web site, has exceeded goals set for hits every month since it was launched in October, says Ken Wood, chief marketing officer. The site, updated daily, offers such features as:
• current and personalized health and wellness information on such topics as fitness, women’s health, pregnancy, and alternative health;
• customized e-mail reminders that track important health events;
• an extensive health database of medical journals and consumer publications and reviews of other health Web sites;
• on-line shopping discounts on health-related products.
The site helps users filter the information they want to receive. For example, a woman who is thinking about starting a pregnancy and is interested in alternative health and fitness could set up a profile to receive a weekly customized e-mail newsletter with links to the latest news, journal, and magazine articles on those topics. All of these features can be accessed free of charge and are not limited to Blue Shield members.
"People want personalized information, and they need help filtering the things that are important to them," Wood says. "We’re using the Web site to fill a need and to establish positive relationships with patients. If we’re successful in that relationship, people are more likely to stay with us, and people who aren’t members are more likely to want to get to know us."
Blue Shield contracts with vendors to get access to the content featured on the site. An oversight board made up of clinicians checks to be sure the content is medically accurate and also edits primers on basic health care topics for use on the site.
[For more information, contact Misti Vazquez Communication Manager, Adventist Health/Southern California, Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Marketing Department, 1509 Wilson Terrace, Glendale, CA 91206. Telephone: (818) 409-6622.]
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