AMC Web Strategy
AMC needs to define direction and uses for of the Web. The current lack of strategic vision has
brought the constraints of resources, time, and quality to a bottleneck halting all promises of
agility. A Strategic vision will make the web an indispensable tool supporting AMC’s strategy.
AMC Strategic Focus for the Web
While AMC’s efforts with the Web have been successful, our current processes and software
limit our ability to take true advantage of the potential that this medium could afford. The web is
the most accessible and direct communication to our customers (present and future),
employees, clinicians, and associates. The current tactical focus has created disparate
resources using multiple technology approaches for departmental solutions. The lack of an
enterprise view limits AMC’s ability to inform, correspond with and transact with our employees,
patients, students, researchers, physicians and business associates. A strategic focus for the
web will improve the quality of our institutional communication.The most direct way to improve
communication is to give communicators a global way to communicate. This is essentially what
a content management system accomplishes utilizing centralized content publishing, a strategic
direction, and a standardized technical architecture.
Centralized content publishing places the power of communication in everyone hands. It also is
insightful enough to provide rules and order to what is being communicated. The best way to
think of it is supervised email. Anyone can create a web page to communicate an item, but
before the item is published, it must be authorized. Currently, centralized “publishing” of web
content by IS staff separates the authors and/or editors of the content from the people doing the
publishing. What a content management system does is move the responsibility of publishing to
those more appropriate like a department head, a legal resource, a marketing resource, or a
public relations resource. The content authors and/or editors – will write, edit, approve and
publish information on the AMC public website and AMC Intranet. With distributed ownership,
AMC’s agility and responsiveness can be enhanced, while improving reliability and accuracy of
published information for all end-users: employees, business partners, physicians, students and
patients. Presently, new components of the AMC website are published with enthusiasm, but
we lack processes and infrastructure that would require sponsors of these components to
maintain them. The outcome is remains of inaccurate unsupported content being displayed to
the public. For example, there remain many mentions of our heart transplant program (see
http://heart.amc.edu/canver.htm) on the AMC website. Currently the responsible owner is Dr.
Canver. A responsible owner must be indicated, and outdated content should be retired. With
a content management system, processes and infrastructure will be implemented to provide a
content approval workflow that will facilitate both rapid publication and consistent updates. In
addition any content that has not been reviewed within the last year’s owner will be notified, and
requested to update the content. If no owner is identified, the content will be removed. The
current owner and defined authorizer will determine if the legacy content is suitable for
publishing.
While our most remarkable advantages will come from using the web for cross-application
integration and large scale process transformation, all uses, simple and complex, will rely on the
publication of information. We have thus far maintained “almost” central control of content
publication by how we have done web development. Yet our user community has become
frustrated, and some departments – accustomed to the self service culture so pervasive in our
society - have acquired their own development tools or have even hired outside web
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development contractors in order to meet real or perceived needs that were unmet by our
current infrastructure.
This document outlines the primary problems with AMC’s current web resources, and proposes
a set of processes and infrastructure changes that will enable AMC to migrate these resources
into a more robust position.
Problems:






New components of the AMC website are published with enthusiasm, but we lack
processes and infrastructure that would require sponsors of these components to
maintain them. 1
Web resources are conceived and implemented in a tactical rather than strategic
manner.2
Centralized “publishing” of web content by IS staff separates the authors and/or editors
of the content from the people doing the publishing3
Reliance on paper and e-mail distribution of documents and information burdens our email systems, and enhances cost for paper duplication enterprise-wide.4
Poor usability of the AMC Intranet causes employees to waste too much time searching
for information5
AMC business units are unable to respond promptly to market pressures6
Solutions




Processes and infrastructure will be implemented to provide a content approval workflow
that will facilitate both rapid publication and consistent updates.7
Strategic initiatives must dictate tactics, and will guide the overall framework of AMC
web resources.
Content authors and/or editors – will write, edit, approve and publish information on the
AMC public website and AMC Intranet. With distributed ownership, AMC’s agility and
responsiveness can be enhanced, while improving reliability and accuracy of published
information for all end-users: employees, business partners, physicians, students and
patients.
Paper and e-mail distribution of documents and information will be reduced.
Communicating through dynamic and frequently updated web resources, internal and
1
For example: there remain many mentions of our heart transplant program (see http://heart.amc.edu/canver.htm) on
the AMC website. Who is responsible for reviewing this? How can we decide what gets “retired” and when? How
can the people responsible for updating or retiring pages make sure that this is done promptly?
2
Tactical projects, while well intentioned, and often successful in accomplishing focused goals, will not support
strategic goals unless implemented within a strategic plan. See “The Nine Pillars of Successful Web Teams”
http://www.jjg.net/ia/pillars.pdf (and see appendix)
3
4
Paper-based resources that could be migrated to digital resources: Telephone Directory, Laboratory Services
Directory, Pharmacy Formulary, College Course Syllabi, College Catalog, AMC Policies and Procedures
Jakob Nielsen http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040329.html. “For intranets, we know that good design can double employee
productivity. This estimate comes from our intranet usability testing, where people using the worst 25% of intranets required 99
hours per year to perform typical employee tasks, whereas people using …. the very best designs we tested, employees could
complete their tasks in 27 hours per year.
5
Example: AMC’s “fast track” colonoscopy provides a valuable, convenient service to referring physicians and
their patients, but has no web resources to direct physicians or patients to this service. St. Peter’s Hospital has
referral forms and patient information available for easy downloading: http://www.albanygi.com.
7
See Figure 1 (in Appendix)
6
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
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external news can be conveyed more efficiently and more globally than with paper or email.8 Reducing the use of paper for the pharmacy formulary, College catalog,
telephone directory and College syllabi will not only reduce the cost and time required to
produce these static documents, but will also improve the accuracy and currency of
these resources.
By separating the design of the websites from the content will enable AMC to build and
maintain websites that meet or exceed usability standards, and therefore assist users in
finding the information they need in a prompt and efficient manner – thereby
representing AMC as an efficient, responsive institution. Content authors and editors will
author end edit the content – not the “look and feel” of the websites – which will be
managed centrally by web development team – who have skills and training in web
graphic design.
Risks
AMC Cultural Implications
At least a few cultural implications come with advancing AMC’s Web capabilities. These
challenges may include:



Self service
Transparency/Customer integration into process
Mental models based on personal behaviors and preferences
Self service has been a revolutionary change in how business transactions occur. Examples
include stops at the gas station, cafeteria or fast food lines, ATM, online or telephone banking
transactions, airline reservation websites, and home lab test kits. AMC uses of the web have
provided content or have some simply, focused transaction capability.
Without moving to more sophisticated underlying architecture, we will see more and more
departments acquiring their own tools to do Web development, spend our money accordingly,
and miss the opportunity to create an infrastructure and culture that moves content
management both horizontally and into the hands of our management collectively.
Self service web content management tools provide the capability to significantly alter the value
we gain from our Web investments. For example, our “webmasters” currently are receiver,
editor, publisher, maintainer, and technical application developer of our Web efforts. With
content management tools, the organization can adopt standards as to who and to what level of
8
In the last 8 years, e-mail has become the standard form of communication at AMC. While e-mail is very effective
for many forms of communication, there remain limitations. For example: documents distributed to many
recipients vie e-mail require everyone to save the files on their computers and/or archive them in their e-mail
account – making the e-mail system a de-facto file system. A web-based content management system could serve
this function more efficiently – providing an online repository of documents for a set of users (security can restrict
access to only those who should be able to retrieve a given document if necessary). Our employees would be able to
find their shared documents in a well organized repository rather than searching through hundreds of old e-mails.
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investment content will be published, standards for refresh of content, professional standards for
publishing and offer a consistent menu of site design templates. The webmasters then become
architects who reinforce the publishing standards. Institutional managers become the editors for
their respective departments – with sub-editors and authors feeding and revising content on a
continuous basis.
We have budgeted for these tools because certain individuals understand what the tools can do.
However, we have not 1) contemplated how the tools would be adapted to use at AMC and with
what organizational impact (requiring buy-in) and 2) assured that disparate Web efforts that are
springing up, (e.g., procurement) will align and not quickly “hit the wall” once our key resources
refocus to a content tool based effort. Coordination of web efforts under this new framework is
the only way that AMC’s strategic focus can be maintained,
Transparency. The Web makes organizations “transparent” to their customers. For instance,
appointment scheduling at AMC typically occurs via telephone or face to face encounter. A first
step toward web use is to allow the Customer to request an appointment via a Web page and
then send a follow-up email noting the appointment. The next stage of Web sophistication is
that of extending the available block schedule via the Web to the Customer, allowing them to
select from the schedule the appointment time, and then generate an immediate online
confirmation. In essence the customer becomes fully integrated into the business process, and
the way about which the work has been performed is changed and perhaps hybridized.
Allowing such transparency may be a cultural challenge to AMC’s way of doing business.
Mental Models. A third challenge is potentially presented from the mental models we have
about the Web. Simply said, our organizational demographics view the Web much like the
general population. The under-40 population expects self service Internet access to health,
employment, and education content and processes. We are behind the curve, and potentially
lacking in understanding of this expectation. Though our Internet presence is basic, the
statistics below provide representation of 2003-2004 activity.
Statistics
Hits on entire site
Average per day
Visitor Sessions
Average per day
Unique Visitors
Visitors who visited
more than once
Jan. 2003
Jan. 2004
Jan – Dec. 2003
122,377
153,109
1,439,281
4,068
4,852
47,153
4,890
7,208
64,383
AMC’s Intranet – despite its aging design and discontinuous organization – has become a
successful method of sharing information, providing business tools, hosting documents (such as
the recently migrated Hospital Policies and Procedures – which are no longer available in a 3ring binder). Our goal is to use these small tactical successes as a model for a more
coordinated strategic approach to the problems outlined on Page 1. Why are the Hospital
Policies and Procedures online, but not those of the Practice or College? While we should
applaud the initiative taken by the hospital to deliver these documents digitally, we have failed to
provide an infrastructure that would cause all entities to deliver these important documents in
one consistent manner across the enterprise. With a revised model of web development and
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implementation, this infrastructure will facilitate such a coordinate approach – and will also
facilitate the processes that will enable us to move AMC to the next level of web interactivity.
Next Steps
The first “stage” of Health Web evolution (see Table 1) is publication. As described above, our
current publication efforts, while successful, have been managed centrally. Shifting from these
current processes and infrastructure to a new model of distributed content management and
publication will require buy-in from all levels of the organization. This shift will improve
efficiency, improve our public image, and reduce waste, yet we must implement the transition in
a deliberate and careful manner. Managers or department heads must understand that they
may expect to spend 2 – 3 additional hours every month reviewing content that had been
authored or revised within their department. We may find that some departments take an
active, aggressive approach and will make the most of the freedom afforded by self service,
while other departments may require hand-holding and encouragement during this transition.
A core component of our first steps toward this migration will therefore be a needs assessment,
selection and installation of enterprise web content management software.
While publication is an important and necessary component of both our intranet and public
internet sites, AMC will also focus on one or more initiatives from higher stages of web evolution
in order to better reach our strategic goals. While we will maintain several existing resources
(web-based medical school applications, web-based exams for medical students), two salient
initiatives that have been identified are: materials procurement on the intranet (eliminating the
need for a “green requisition” for stock supply items) and web-based physician/service referrals.
These initiatives are proposed as pilot projects for the new web development and
implementation infrastructure because they represent projects that are either already approved
or already in process. These initiatives also represent significant opportunities for process
improvement, cost reduction and revenue enhancement:

Intranet-based materials procurement
This system would automate the ordering of stock supply items for all AMC departments.
AMC employees would see reduced latency to order fulfillment, and reduced paperwork,
while the materials management department would see similar improvements in work
process from eliminated paperwork.

Web-based physician/service referrals
An enhancement to the physician referral directory that is currently in development, this
system would permit any department offering a service to patients and/or referring
physicians to retrieve information (e.g. referral criteria, pre-op instructions, etc) or submit
information (patient history, pre-registration forms, insurance information etc). The
system would have limited interactivity: information submitted would be forwarded to the
appropriate department – and confirmation of receipt would be managed by telephone.
Nonetheless, this enhanced level of service – which would be available to all
departments – would provide a level of self service that many patients and referring
physicians are coming to expect.
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In Summary, AMC’s web infrastructure – developed in the summer of 1997 by a physician and a
small team of work-study medical students – now needs an upgrade in order to support our
growing reliance on this technology. No longer a fad – web technology represents an
opportunity for AMC to carefully and deliberately move our business toward one of enhanced
automation, transparency and self service for our staff, students, and business associates.
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Table 1 represents the typical and necessary evolution of Web use in a healthcare organization. The Appendix is provided as a reference to baseline
concepts. Table 2 further presents our capabilities, potential desired state (where the authors believe work should occur), perceived priorities (where
the authors believe, yet must validate with leadership the strategic or transformational value resides), and certain key leading practice or competitive
Web sites where we should look, to follow tactical efforts or understand necessary functionality.
Table 3 represents select key attributes by evolutionary stage for further understanding of what we are likely to require of AMC in framing our decision
making, resourcing and approach.
Table 4 is provided via outside research to challenge or support our leadership perspectives on perceived priorities.
Table 5 provides critical success factors in rank order to assure we consider certain elements in our thinking as we move the AMC Web from being a
decentralized/tactical to strategic/shared resource.
Table 1 – Health Web evolution by Community Need
Adapted from FCG, Cisco Systems and CGE&Y sources
Stage
Consumers
Physicians
Patients
Employees
Suppliers
Faculty/Students/
Researchers
1.





General information
(hours, locations)
Interactive shopping for
directions/maps
Pre- and post- procedure
instructions
Food menus









Job listings
Policies and procedures
Employee handbook/directory
Forms access
Newsletters
HR guidelines
Company news
Vacation calendar
Cafeteria menus

Ship-to and bill-to
addresses
Order forms online
Supplier contact info
Boilerplate contracts and
contract checklists




Demographic updates
Medical advice service
(ask-a-nurse)
Pre-registration
Virtual hospital tours
Referral request
Scheduling request
Personalized health
content




Computer-based training
Internet access
Fill-out forms online
Community development (e.g.,
volunteer opportunities,
matching gifts)
Reset passwords
Computer help requests
Personalized industry news

Searchable library of
supplier information

Physician-patient
communication
Patient-care team
communication
Prescription refill/ request




Benefits enrollment
Time and expense reporting
Vacation scheduling
Application submission and
sales tracking


Publish



2.
Interact





3.
Transact


Marketing information
News service
Healthcare content
(general and disease
info, intervention and
wellness)
Member info
Physician finder
Market branding
Provider directory
Individual health risk
assessment
Community service links
Searchable health
content
Online fundraising
E-tail (gifts, books,
supplies)
Interactive shopping for
services

















Medical content (news
updates, literature,
textbooks, etc.)
Look-up treatment
guidelines/pathways
Look-up formulary
On-line directory
On-line physician contact
info
Authoritative physician oncall information
CME sign-up
CME classes
Internet Access
E-mail
Discussion groups
Resource scheduling
Physician web page
Secure Messaging
Eligibility verification
Claims submission/
tracking
Results reporting
Electronic prescribing




























On-line RFP’s
Dynamic bidding for
supply/vendor contracts
Vendor EDI and AP
integration


College directories
General information
Applicant information
Policies and
procedures
Research protocols
Published works
Links to library
resources
Research and life
sciences discussions
and knowledge sharing
groups
Online Exams
Distance Learning
Calendar of Events
View available
fellowships/grants
Online “full circle”
evaluations
On-line application
submission and
feedback
Student/Faculty
communications
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




4.
Integrate

Personalized one-to-one
marketing based
infomediaries





5.
Transform

Performance profiling
Credentialing
Web-accessible patient
registry
Edit contact info
Edit call schedule info

Referral authorization
Supply purchasing
Web-accessible medical
records
Care management
guidelines integrated with
ordering
Professional services
charge capture facilitation

Integrated physician portal
(email, on-call, patient info,
professional charges)





Individual health
management support
Online registration
Online appointment
scheduling
Access to patient’s
medical record (AMC
managed)
Personal medical record
(patient managed)
Full call center integration














Integrated care team
support
Automated supply/Rx
fulfillment
Home-based monitoring
linked to records and
fulfillment


Customized (my AMC) pages
Conference room scheduling
Discussion groups
Asset tracking (beepers, cell
phones, med equipment,
nurses)
Job auctions
Interactive distance learning tied
to performance tracking
Tie-in with legacy HR systems
Desktop videoconferencing
On-line budget preparation
Management reporting
customized to user
Decision support
Single sign-on to AMC
applications
Integration of messaging media
(email, voicemail, pager)
Collaborative development tools






Inventory management
Supply purchasing on-line
Payment tracking
Electronic funds transfer of
invoices







Supply purchasing
integrated with inventory
management
Electronic funds transfer
linked to A/R system
Online invoicing of order
based on published price



Personalized
faculty/researchers
pages
Research/clinical
database sharing
Evidence based
medicine support
Web-accessible
Student Records
Student Billing/
Payment tracking
Class Registration:
(add/drop a class)
Financial Aid
submission and
tracking
Sophisticated data
warehousing and data
mining tools/access
Research protocol
tracking with online
interventionary support
Robust, automated
student and faculty
performance evaluation
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Table 2 – AMC Capabilities, Key Futures, Priorities and Benchmark Sites
Stage
AMC Current Capabilities
(Examples)
Key Futures – Next
Three Years
Perceived Priorities
Benchmark Sites – Leading
Practice
Benchmark Sites Competitor
1. Publish

Children’s Hospital
http://www.amc.edu/patient/child
rens_hospital/childrens_hospital
.htm
Non-interactive pages
News and Publications
http://www.amc.edu/news.cfm
(Search for previous articles)

Physician contact
information, AMC
services directory

College Admissions
info
Services Directory


Continuum Health Partners
http://www.wehealny.org/
Non-interactive pages
Submit question for billing
or scheduling,
On-line physician referral
forms



St. Peter’s Health Care
Services
http://www.stpetershealthcar
e.org/foundation/donations/
Donate Online (monetary)
Employment
http://www.amc.edu/employmen
tform.cfm
(Submit resume to HR)

Apply to medical school,
Apply for job at AMC,
Pre-register for physician
visit or hospitalization

Interactive Physician
and Service referral
directories
Online service and
physician referrals
from referring
physicians
Online job
applications, medical
school applications,
Online CME & nursing
education.
The Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia
http://www.chop.edu/about_c
hop/index.shtml
Non-interactive pages
Brigham and Women’s
Hospital
https://www.brighamandwom
ens.org/forms/RequestAppoin
tment.asp
Request appointment via web

John Hopkins University
School of Medicine
https://app.applyyourself.com
/?id=jhu-med
Apply for school online

Northeast Health
http://www.nehealth.com/Bid
AShift/login.asp?URL=/BidA
Shift/Default.asp&QS=L1%3
D12%26L2%3D949
Bid-A-Shift

Physician Communication
“hub” for secure
physician-physician
communication and
physician-patient
communication
Integration of library
resources with clinical
information system
Pay Bills, Request &
Confirm Appointment,
Ask physician questions,
review my medical
records

Web-based physician
communication
system, - integrated
with call schedules.

Children’s Hospital Boston
http://www.childrenshospital.o
rg/visiting/pat_billing/index.ht
ml
Update billing information

Ellis Hospital
http://www.ellishospital.org/p
hysicians.cfm
Physician have access to
NetAccess, MedWeb, and
e-Scribe via the external
website.

Pay Bills online with
credit cards, buy gifts
for hospitalized
friend/family member
online.

Kaiser Permanente
https://members.kaiserperma
nente.org/kpweb/about/rxrefill
.do
Refill Prescriptions

The University of Vermont
College of Medicine
http://www.med.uvm.edu/co
metinfo/TB1+BL.asp?SiteAr
eaID=513
College Of Medicine
Education Tools
2. Interact
3. Transact
4. Integrate





5. Transform



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Table 3 – Key Attributes by Stage Evolution
Adapted from The Greystone Group
Stage
Overview
Governance
Goals
Investment
Infrastructure
Content
Static information about the
organization and its services.
Relatively easy to develop and
maintain static form.
Target audiences use interactive
components of the Web site to
search for information
IS and/or Marketing
Provide information
Under $200k
annually
Single or multiple web servers
Basic Internet hosting
One webmaster
State content
Webmaster posts and maintains
information
IS and/or Marketing
Provide searches and
some customized
information
$200-600k annually
Static content
Webmaster posts and maintains
information
Transact
Target markets and communities
are able to conduct transactions
via the Web.
Strategy team
Reduce costs
Improve operations
$200-600k
annually
Web server, list server, database
server
One Webmaster, requires
professional skills
Basic Internet hosting
Web center
Database-driven editor
Multiple server hosting
Requires sophisticated IT
infrastructure
4.
Integrate
Interactivity and information are
integrated with existing systems
and networks, business
processes, and portal partners.
Strategy team
Reduce costs
Improve operations
Capture market share
Capture physician and
employee loyalty
Work effort becomes
think effort
$500k-1M annually
Web center
Database-driven editor
Multiple server hosting
Requires sophisticated IT
infrastructure
Integration to legacy systems
5.
Transform
Work processes and strategic
capabilities are significantly
changed by Web integration
Strategy team
Reduce costs
Improve operations
Capture market share
Capture physician and
employee loyalty
Work effort becomes
think effort
$500k->$1M
annually
Web center
Database-driven editor
Multiple server hosting
Requires sophisticated IT
infrastructure
Heavy tie to all academic,
business and clinical systems
with associated content and
knowledge warehouse
capabilities
1.
Publish
2.
Interact
3.
Dynamic content tool basis
Certified programmers maintain
environment
Webmaster is editor in chief
AMC constituents publish and
post content
Development and publishing
standards compliance
Dynamic content tool basis
Certified programmers maintain
environment
Webmaster is editor in chief
AMC constituents publish and
post content
Development and publishing
standards compliance
Dynamic content tool basis
Certified programmers maintain
environment
Webmaster is editor in chief
AMC constituents publish and
post content
Development and publishing
standards compliance
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Table 4 – Typical Functionality Oriented to Communities in Rank Order (Highest to Lowest)
Adapted from Scottsdale Institute work
Patients/Consumers
Physicians
 General information
 Email
 Directions/Maps
 Look-up guidelines and pathways
 Procedure –re-instructions
 Medical content
 Procedure post-instructions
 Eligibility verification
 Virtual hospital tours
 CME classes
 Medical advice service
 Physician web page
 Referral request
 CME sign-up
 Pre-registration
 Claims submission/tracking
 Demographic updates
 Look-up formulary
 Health management support
 Web-accessible medical records
 Scheduling requests
 Results reporting
 Access to patient’s own medical record (IDN
 Online directory/coverage list
owned)
 Referral authorization
 Physician-patient communication (includes all
 Performance profiling
sorts of items – Rx request/refill, care
 Credentialing
communication, online registration, online
 Discussion groups
appointment scheduling, home based
 Care guidelines with ordering
monitoring)
 Supply purchasing
 Patient management registry
 Resource scheduling
 Electronic prescribing
Employees
 Job listings
 Policies and procedures
 Newsletters
 HR guidelines
 Employee directory, forms access
 Computer-based training
 Employee handbook
 Pre-screen applicants
 Legacy system integration/use
 Community development
 Reset passwords
 Decision support
 Application submission and status tracking
 Conference room scheduling
 Management reporting
 Interactive distance learning
 Benefits enrollment
 Online budget preparation
 Desktop videoconferencing
 Personalized industry news
 Collaborative development tools
 Integrated messaging
 Asset tracking
 Vacation calendaring
 Customized web pages
 Data pre-mining
 Vacation scheduling
 Discussion groups
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Table 5 – Web Critical Success Factors in Rank Order (Highest to Lowest)
Adapted from FCG and Scottsdale Institute
Perceived Importance of CSF in Rank Order
 Security/Confidentiality
 Technical Infrastructure
 Staff Resources
 User Acceptance
 Data Integrity
 Workflow
 Web Transaction Performance
 Organization Readiness
 Organizational Governance
 Legacy System
 Trading Partner Readiness
 ROI
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APPENDIX
Baseline Concepts 9
Community organization – Web sites are organized around “communities” of users – that is
communities of interest and/or communities of practice – versus traditional services and silos.
Academic health delivery organizations most often organize to support the following
communities:
 Consumers – usually defined as the people in the community we want to reach who may
become patients, doctors, employees, or otherwise constituents and stakeholders.
 Patients – seeking medical attention, in the form of intervention or wellness.
 Donors – who contribute to or have proclivity to contribute financially to AMC endeavors.
 Employers – fund our health care insurance for consumers and patients.
 Payers – traditional payers – okay, non-traditional payers too.
 Business partners – companies that engage in some form of commerce with AMC to
include vendors, suppliers, drug companies, and so on.
 Researchers – academic researchers, both inside and outside AMC’s walls.
 Students – medical and life science students.
 Faculty – of AMC and perhaps other academic organizations.
 Employees – and potential employees of AMC.
Web initiatives are comprised of our components – content, connectivity, commerce and
workforce optimization. 10
 Content is the information that one is able to access via the web. Technologies have
been developed to strongly facilitate the presentation and publishing of content by
nontechnical staff. Content examples include diet and nutrition material, policies,
pharmaceutical reference information, online health newsletters, and health information
for specific support groups.
 Connectivity is the interplay between content and access. “Portals” have been a
common tactic to provide for navigational assistance to specific users. Most common
eHealth portals include:
 Consumer – allow for general consumer or community access to content, ability to
purchase health goods and services, and register for events. Often content is made
available by third parties at no cost or is funded by site link advertising.
 Physician – assist the physician in gaining access to patient and physician related
information through one user interface and sign on.
 Hospital – connect with physicians to accrue patient referrals, satisfy patient information
needs and reduce costs through workflow simplification or content delivery.
 Payer – enable provider, plan members, employers, and sales agents/brokers to
interact, exchange data, and simplify claims processing and related concerns.
 Commerce – also referred as eCommerce. The “Web vernacular” refers to business-tobusiness (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) as the two notable types of value
exchange. B2B includes supply chain management with vendors, provider-to-pharmacy
exchange, research to grant funding entity interactions, provider-to-payer transactions,
and so on. B2C include retail business to include patient prescription renewals,
9
FCG DogHouse, 2001.
Ibid.
10
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
purchase of reference or medical supply items, fee-based professional/clinical advice,
and so on.
Work force optimization – Employee morale, efficiency, effectiveness, workflow,
information access, and web-enabled processes are included in this concept. Many of
these applications are intranet-based though some may breach the walls of AMC.
Further, e-work force enablement is now a common feature of package applications (i.e.,
consider buy vs. make).
Figure 1
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