HEALTHCARE ON THE WEB
INTRO TO THE BASICS
Index
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In the News – pgs. 2-12
The Integrated Approach - pgs. 13-14
Research – pgs. 15-16
Objective – pgs 17-22
Strategy – pgs. 23-27
Tactics – pgs. 28-37
Development – pgs. 38-43
Launch – pgs. 44-45
Review – pgs. 46-52
To view a specific section, type the page number and click enter.
In the News
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According to Harris Interactive, nearly 100
million people consulted the Web for medical
advice and 70% of them took seriously the
proffered advice and diagnosis.
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Seeking health information is the third most
common reason people go online—after weather
and sports, and just ahead of pornography.
Forbes, Best of the Web (June 25, 2001)
In the News –
Wireless Devices
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The GlucoWatch takes glucose measurements 36
times in a 24-hour period, and you can download
the results to a PC. www.glucowatch.com
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Plug the Stayhealthy BC1 unit into your PC and
hold it in both hands for 30 seconds. The unit
measures your fat and hydration and sends the
results to www.stayhealthy.com
Forbes, Best of the Web (June 25, 2001)
In the NewsReturn on Investment (ROI)
When patients who frequently use the Internet
or health consult with their doctors
36 percent suggest the specific illnesses that
they are suffering from
45 percent request specific treatments
This compares to 16% and 19%, respectively,
for patients who infrequently use the Internet for
health.
Cyber Dialogue (February 2001)
Have you heard ???
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47 percent of the people who were seeking
health information for themselves say the
online material influenced their decisions
about treatment and care.
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36 percent of those seeking information on
behalf of others say it influenced their
decisions.
Pew Internet & American Life Project
Did you know ???
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90 percent of physicians have accessed the Web in
the past year and 55 percent are daily users.
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24 percent of physicians are "professional users,"
users who spend at least three-quarters of their
online time for professional purposes.
Deloitte Research
Are you afraid ???
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The face-time a patient gets with a doctor during an
average appointment has dipped below 18 minutes
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89 percent of health seekers say they are worried that
Internet companies will collect and share data about the
Web sites they visited
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85 percent say they fear that insurance companies might
change their coverage after finding out what online
information they accessed
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52 percent fret that their employers might learn
what kind of medical material they accessed
Pew Internet & American Life Project
And wireless ???
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20 percent of American physicians use handheld devices,
including the Palm Pilot and Handspring Visor
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One in four programs for family practice residents provide
hand-held units
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90,000 doctors have downloaded a free early version of
ePocrates, the drug- reference software program for handheld devices
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Merck-Medco plans to connect its computers to hand-held
units and desktop PC's in 40,000 physician's offices by the
end of this year
New York Times (January 8, 2001)
Getting ready ???
More than 80 percent of executives who are
increasing online spending said their
companies would provide additional online
outlays for on-site customer relationship
management.
Jupiter Communications
The online health-commerce market is expected to
reach $2.4 billion by 2003.
What does it mean ???
Merkley
Wins Pfizer's Lipitor
Billings are estimated at $70 million.
Merkley beat Pfizer roster shops Cline, Davis &
Mann and Gotham, as well as Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners and
Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer/Euro RSCG.
Merkley took an integrated approach, offering
everything from traditional advertising to direct and interactive
marketing, according to sources.
Adweek (December 19, 2000)
Where do we go
from here ???
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Clients need an integrated approach – one that
fully exploits the synergies between print,
broadcast, and interactive media.
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Interactive media is fast becoming the tail that
wags the dog – the small piece of agency business
that determines who wins the account.
The Integrated Approach
1) Research
2) Objective
3) Strategy
4) Tactics
5) Development
6) Launch
7) Review
Research
Every product is unique. Learning the key
issues of a product is critical to a campaign’s
success.
Research
Message
Each element of a campaign has a message:
 Who’s the speaker?
 Who’s the audience?
 What’s the message?
 How is that message being delivered?
Objective
A website’s objective will normally fall
within four categories:
Branding/Marketing
 Education
 Market Research
 Training/Sales
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Objective
Branding/Marketing
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The Internet is a powerful tool for Customer
Relationship Management.
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An interactive website can often form a
stronger and longer lasting bond with its
users than traditional media.
Objective
Education (consumer)
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A website bypasses traditional channels of
communication and speaks directly to the
consumer.
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Websites generate greater confidence
because they provide the latest, most
accurate, and most abundant source of
information.
Objective
Education (physician)
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Websites are cost effective tools for providing
necessary information to doctors and other
healthcare professionals.
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Websites can provide physicians the necessary
information to “graduate” a patient from one
medication to a “new and improved” version.
Objective
Market Research
Encouraging users to register at a website
yields valuable information.
 Demographics
 Medical conditions
 Personal habits
 Interests
 Concerns
Objective
Training/Sales
The Internet is a cost effective tool for training
sales staff.
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Online Courses
 Testing
 Feedback
 Incentives
Staff can study new products around their
individual schedules.
Strategy
Strategy is determined by the following
methodology:
Defining the target audience
2. Defining the site’s objective
3. Developing tools to measure a site’s return
on investment (ROI)
1.
Strategy
Target Audience
Target audiences normally fall into three
classes:
1. Consumer
2. Professional Healthcare Provider –
Physicians, HCO’s, Administrators
3. Internal Staff – Sales, Management
Strategy
Website Objective
A site’s objective must be clearly defined
prior to any site development.
Objectives can include –
 Product branding
 Training cost reductions
 Data collection for market research
Strategy
Return on Investment (ROI)
Developing tools to measure a site’s ROI must
always take place prior to developing the site
itself. The tools can later be refined but ROI
tools will always determine what shape a site
takes.
Strategy - ROI Tools
Data Collection – Online Surveys
- Value of information gained
- Cost comparison with alternative data collection
methods
 Branding
- Number of repeat visitors
- Time duration of each visit
- Increased brand loyalty / awareness
 Sales Training
- Cost savings
- Training effectiveness
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Tactics
Content and Features
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Streaming News
Online Calendar
Nutritional Database
Ask the Expert
Online Communities
Doctor Referral
Online Polls
Online Library
Preventative Medicine Guides
Tactics
Streaming News
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News feeds are pre-filtered to a target
audience and updated regularly. All updates
occur automatically.
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Your site will always have fresh and
relevant content.
Tactics
Online Calendar
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Medication Schedule
Daily Reminders
Diet Planning
Exercise Progress
Appointments
Tactics
Nutritional Database
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Nutritional information for over 20,000
products, brands, and recipes.
 Compare Burger King to McDonald’s to
Weight Watchers.
 Plan your eating habits.
 Learn where you can cheat and where you
can make it up.
Tactics
Ask the Expert
Got a question?
A very personal question?
Now, you can ask the leading experts with
absolute anonymity.
Tactics
Online Communities
Online communities are still
the rage.
Websites offer:
1) Chat Rooms
2) Message Boards
3) Email Groups
4) News Updates
Tactics
Doctor Referral
Need a doctor who’s familiar with your
medication?
Type in your zip code and we’ll give you a list
of doctors in your area, sorted according to
who’s closest.
Tactics
Online Polls
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What are your users thinking?
 How do they feel?
 What is their opinion?
Have you asked them?
Tactics
Online Library
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Archived content
 Search feature
 Sort search results
Tactics
Preventative Medicine Guide
Websites can provide guides, tools, and
services for the following:
 Healthful Aging
 Reducing Risk
 Fitness Charts
 General Well Being
Development
A website’s development proceeds in four
stages:
1) Storyboard
2) Creative
3) Programming
4) Quality Assurance
Development
Storyboard
The purpose of a storyboard is to imitate a user’s
experience on the website.
Through the storyboard, you can develop
 A site map
 Website Features
 Web page layouts
 User interface
 Admin interface
Development
Creative
The creative team is responsible for bringing
the storyboard to life. All pages must be
generated by the creative team, including:
 All dynamically generated pages.
 All form pages (including error pages)
 All index pages
 All admin pages
Development
Programming
The programmer’s job comes last and, absent
looming deadlines, should wait until the
creative is complete.
Any creative left to the programmer to design
(i.e. error pages) will always cause delays and
extra work.
Development
Programming Deliverables
The programmers are responsible for
delivering the following:
 Database Schema (data flow chart)
 Documentation (at least in the code)
 Scalable Architecture (able to handle heavy traffic)
 Modular Coding (able to modify post launch)
 A working site
Development
Quality Assurance
Programmers are inherently incapable of proofing their own
work. All sites require extensive testing prior to launch.
The testing methodology is as follows:
1) Does site process good data
2) Does site process bad or empty data
3) Are there time lags in data processing
4) Are there any broken links
ALL portions of the site must be retested prior to launch since
a patch in one place may break the code in another.
Launch
A site has two launches:
 Beta Launch – Working site, still bugs in code,
audience limited to peer review.
 Full Launch – The site goes “live” with a public
announcement.
All support staff must be available at times of both
launches because problems will arise that require
immediate resolution.
Launch
Marketing the site
Search engine registration –
Attain high rankings in leading search
engines through targeted registration
 Print campaign –
Print web address in all related media
campaigns
 Cobranding –
Drive traffic from one site to another
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Review
Developing a “live” site is akin to doing airplane
maintenance while the plane is in flight.
Still, sites are a work in progress. The site will be
reviewed according to the following criteria:
1. Performance
2. Traffic
3. Achievements
4. Overall Objectives
5. Overall Strategies
6. Future Directions
Review
Performance
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How did the site handle traffic
 Did all features work properly
 Were there noticeable lags or errors during
periods of peak usage
 Is the site being monitored
 Are security measures being monitored
 Is user feedback handled properly
Review
Traffic
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What is the average vs. peak traffic
 What are the traffic trends
 What portions are used most often
 Which pages are viewed the longest
 From which sites do visitors come
 From which pages do visitors leave
 To which sites do visitors leave
Review
Achievements
All achievements must be measured in
relationship to and independent of the overall
objectives and strategies.
For example, features targeted to men may
have had more success attracting women. Is it
a failure, a success, or an opportunity?
Review
Overall Objectives
Using ROI measurement tools, how did the
site do?
 What
data was captured?
 What were the cost savings?
 Was the brand measurably enhanced?
Do the ROI tools need to be refined?
Review
Overall Strategies
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Is the site fully integrated as part of an
overall campaign?
 Can the site be used more effectively?
 Do we need to change strategies?
 Were any of the original assumptions
erroneous?
Review
Future Directions
Where do we go from here?
How can we maximize the site’s
effectiveness?
 How can we further develop the site?
 In what new directions can we take the site?
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How can we best use the Internet?
Conclusion
The Internet
It’s not easy, but. . .
What’s the alternative?