Award Winning Developer Provides 10 Tips for Creating Successful e-health Portals.

Health/Medical Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BW HealthWire)--Oct. 2, 2000

Everyone's doing it; from kids to grandparents to executives at work. The "it" is using the Internet to access healthcare information on everything from the latest clinical research to tips for managing diseases such as asthma and diabetes.

Recognizing the growing popularity of the Internet, and the need to offer members and employees not only reputable content but also more specifics on their own benefit programs, employers and health plans have begun to develop their own online healthcare destinations or "e-health portals."

In just a few short years, Consumer Health Interactive (CHI) has become a leader in the rapidly growing e-health portal industry. CHI has created more award-winning sites for health plans and healthcare organizations than any other organization in the industry. Leading healthcare organizations worldwide such as Blue Shield of California, Vhi Healthcare of Ireland and Advance Paradigm, Inc., one of the nation's largest pharmacy benefit management and health services companies, have turned to CHI to build and maintain their e-health portals. These organizations recognize that e-health portals can support member acquisition by building brand equity, create deeper relationships with their existing members, lower administrative costs and improve healthcare outcomes.

To help health plans, healthcare organizations and employers ensure their healthcare sites are effective, Jon Leeke, Director of Strategic Planning for CHI, has compiled a list of 10 tips for creating successful e-health portals.

1.       Provide interesting and meaningful content. The single most
         important element for an effective e-health portal is
         relevant and meaningful content. If the information on the
         site isn't interesting; if it doesn't encourage members or
         employees to visit a site, the employer or health plan
         sponsor will not be able to secure the benefits an e-health
         portal strategy can provide.

2.       Integrate the information with important benefit information.
         While people go to Internet sites to research healthcare
         information, as many e-health firms have discovered, content
         alone is not enough. The best sites today integrate
         meaningful educational content with pertinent health plan
         information and services involving claims, benefits,
         enrollment, provider directories, member services, and
         medical management programs.

3.       Provide a variety of information. A comprehensive and
         effective e-health portal allows health plan members to
         access the latest healthcare news and articles from consumer
         magazines and clinical journals. Award-winning e-health
         portals such as those offered by several Blues plans
         nationwide have gone a step further, providing original
         reporting, personalized newsletters, detailed website
         reviews, personal journals and more. The more varied and
         broad the information, the more apt the user is to stay at
         that site for all their healthcare information needs.

4.       Ensure the information provided is accurate and timely. With
         so much healthcare information available today, it is easy
         for consumers to become confused and misled. In addition, the
         rapid pace of healthcare could mean that what may have been
         an accepted standard yesterday is no longer the best
         treatment available. Clinicians who specialize, or who are
         board-certified in the area corresponding to a specific
         content area to ensure the information provided is medically
         accurate and timely, should review all information on an
         e-health portal.

5.       Personalize the portal. Another critical element for an
         effective e-health portal that can help to drive users to a
         site is personalization. For example, more than 80% of
         Internet users want a healthcare site that provides
         personalized disease management, according to a recent survey
         conducted by Cyber Dialogue. Personalized newsletters on
         pregnancy, diabetes or other conditions are a good start. To
         take the strategy a step further, the site can also provide
         more specific information such as a daily pollen count for
         members with asthma and discounts on related products.

6.       Give users the opportunity to interact. Realizing they have
         the opportunity to move beyond "generic" content, health
         plans are embracing the Internet for interactive
         communications that build more positive and personalized
         relationships with members. Features should include personal
         reminder systems, a drug database and herbal index, as well
         as health tools such as calculators and quizzes,
         ask-the-expert bulletin boards, member-to-member chat
         capabilities, and professionally moderated support group
         links. As this component becomes more familiar, site sponsors
         may want to consider adding additional features such as
         e-mailing physicians and communication with other healthcare
         providers such as case managers.

7.       Make the site easy to navigate. Despite its popularity, not
         everyone is at ease with the Web. An e-health portal must
         make it easy for all members to find their way around the
         website, which means the overall design, color schemes,
         templates and task bars should be both appealing to the eye
         and user-friendly.

8.       Offer the latest in security and confidentiality. From a
         technical standpoint, there's no issue more important than
         protecting the identity of end users and confidentiality of
         personal information.  Be sure that the website's technology
         partner provides state-of-the-art encryption and firewall
         security, as well as policies that guard against selling
         end-user data. Members will not use a site if they fear that
         administrators or others will be able to access personal
         information. Data should be gathered and communicated in the
         aggregate only. In addition, the program must be an opt-in
         allowing those who want greater personalization to access
         that feature but still giving those who want simply to
         access information that option as well.

9.       Provide opportunities for safe and secure online shopping.
         The original e-commerce model - consumer information sites
         driven by advertising - is not proving to be viable as the
         healthcare industry matures. The new approach involving
         private label and co-branded e-health portals allows health
         plans to preserve and own the channel for online
         communications to their members instead of giving away this
         piece of the value chain to a third party. The cost of
         customization can be subsidized by sharing a portion of
         e-commerce revenues, with the percentage of revenue sharing
         linked to the level of traffic a plan drives to the site.

10.      Select partners to develop the e-health portal carefully.
         Developing an e-health portal is a difficult proposition that
         often requires outside expertise and direction. Customized
         healthcare websites are only as good as the partnerships from
         which they are born. The federal Office of Disease Prevention
         and Health Promotion urges consumers to pay close attention
         to who's sponsoring and managing these sites, as well as
         their credentials and level of medical expertise. Working
         with a credible developer can help an organization ensure
         that their members will have the comfort level needed to feel
         secure using a site.

E-Health portals are but one component of the growing trend toward total connectivity in healthcare. An effective e-health portal can be an important first step in helping organizations enter the e-healthcare arena and prepare for the future in which communication, claims submission, purchasing and other activities are all done online. By creating an effective e-health portal today, health plans and employers will be providing a valuable service to their members and employees and ensuring they are ready for the future of healthcare as well.

About CHI

Consumer Health Interactive (www.consumerhi.com) is a leading developer of a new breed of healthcare Web sites called e-health portals. These portals integrate information on specific services for health plans with engaging, clinically reviewed content, e-commerce opportunities and a broad range of other services including disease management programs and personalized e-mail newsletters. Providing both private label and co-branded sites, CHI's products and services are specifically designed to meet the operational and marketing needs of healthcare organizations, employers and other sponsors of health benefit programs.

Recognizing the value of e-health portals and CHI's emerging leadership position, Advance Paradigm, Inc. (API), completed investment in CHI in January of 2000. Whitney & Co., a leading venture capital firm in the New York Metropolitan area, is also a significant investor in the company. Founded in 1998, CHI now works with several of the nation's leading health plans and employers. CHI is located at 539 Bryant Street, Suite 200; San Francisco, CA 94107; Phone: [phone]; URL: www.consumerhi.com