Where Does WebMD Fit In? A Free Webcast.

By Ben Dillon, Vice President & eHealth Evangelist

WebMD is the single most trafficked Web site dedicated to health-related issues, boasting some 54 million unique visitors monthly and yet few provider organizations consider it as a part of their online strategy.

On Wednesday, I’m co-presenting a Webinar with Cynthia Newton of HCCG and Brian Bierbaum of Priority entitled Optimizing WebMD to Reach Your Target Audience.  We’ll look at what WebMD brings to the table and the various opportunities to utilize this destination site in your overall plan. 

On the road again…

By Ben Dillon, Vice President & eHealth Evangelist

Healthcare Web sites are failing to live up to consumers expectations.  I talk about this regularly as part of the presentations I give, and I find that the thought resonates more when I provide some context:

“Consumers are managing every major aspect of their lives online today.  They book travel online, do their banking online, manage their retirement accounts online…they even use the Web for dating. And then they want to make an appointment with their doctor, requiring a phone call sometime between 9 and 4…”

It resonates better that way.  Attendees nod and seem to understand.  However, when I talk to some attendees after the presentation, I often find out that they get the concept, but haven’t embraced the Web in that way.  And because they’re casual Web users, they don’t feel the pain their consumers feel.

What is an Empowered Health Consumer, Anyway?

By Ben Dillon, Vice President & eHealth Evangelist

So much of what is done in the eHealth space has a fuzzy value proposition attached to it. One of the recurring themes that I hear for healthcare providers and many healthcare vendors is that they are trying to empower health consumers (or patients). It’s a theme that’s receiving attention from a great many sources – the government, insurers and employers.

Crashing the Super Bowl Party

By Devendra Shrikhande, Senior Project Manager

An extremely unscientific and informal poll around the Geonetric kitchen affirms that overall, the Super Bowl commercials this year were as underwhelming as last year. However, spare a thought for the “poor” Super Bowl commercials. When you are part of a pregame hype that seems to last longer than a presidential primary, and then are inserted into the flow of some of the best Super Bowls, you will likely be reduced to the level of your lowly siblings that interrupt regular television programming.

Making the wait bearable: Knowing the wait time

By Matt Youngblut, Technology Implementation Manager

I ran across an interesting article about queuing psychology - in other words: waiting in line – and it got me thinking about waiting in the urgent care.  I’ve taken my daughter there when she’s been sick, and nothing makes me more anxious than waiting with a sick child to get in to see the doctor.

After reading the article, I realize that it is not just me who has these anxieties.  The study found that letting people know upfront the length of the wait reduces their stress.  

HSI – Newspapers, Healthcare and Schools …

By Ben Dillon, Vice President & eHealth Evangelist

Newspaper Web guru Rob Curley presented his thoughts on the evolution of the Web from where he’s sitting.  He’s now with the Las Vegas Sun.  True, the world of the traditional printed newspaper is under assault, but they’ve taken an eyes-open overhaul of both their print and online editions.

Using Social Networks to Build Consumer Affinity

By Heather Rast, Director of Strategic Services

In her recent book “Groundswell,” Charlene Li of Forrester Research suggests “The groundswell is a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.”

This trend could be in response to the myriad and pervasive reach of advertising messages and the natural skepticism that can grow as a result of constant pressures to align with a particular brand or candidate. 

Your Consumers Are Driving The Bus – Are You Strapped In?

By Heather Rast, Director of Strategic Services

Have you read the book “Buying In:  The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are?” The book extends the notion about how closely intertwined brands have come with our personal identities.  Author Rob Walker suggests that “. . .consumers interact with brands, defining and controlling them as companies struggle to keep up.”