One of my responsibilities here at Greystone is to assess hospital and healthcare system Web sites. When we complete an assessment, we use a grade system to determine the quality of a Web site. Thirty-one categories are evaluated using a consistent and quantitative scoring system, and we assign grades to each category ranging from an A to a D-. You may be wondering, why no F’s? Giving an F to a client is like wearing high heels on a hiking trip: you just don’t do it, unless you want to endure the repercussions.
Is your hospital Web site making the grade?
March 9th, 2010 Laura ClemonsPhysician Participation on the Web
March 2nd, 2010 Farrah HuntDo your physicians actively participate on your healthcare organization’s Web site?
We all know a Web site can be a powerful tool for our organizations. Unfortunately, getting that message across to certain areas of the healthcare organization can be a difficult task. Even for those who are lucky enough to be working in a Web savvy environment, finding physicians to participate can be an even larger challenge.
A physician’s time is valuable and asking them to participate in something outside their hectic daily schedule has to be worth-while. Today’s physicians have full schedules and hardly have the time to update their staff photo or bio for the Web site, let alone participate in major Web projects. However, at the University Of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) the Web team has found an area where physicians are embracing and participating on UMMC’s Web site.
Partnering with the organization’s physicians, the Web team has created a sophisticated “Ask an Expert” feature unlike most seen on health care organization Web sites. When a visitor enters “Ask an Expert” they are not met with the usual contact or question form, instead they are presented with a long list of topics and the doctor to whom they can submit their question(s). Once a topic is selected the user is taken to an information page on the topic. If the visitor’s question cannot be answered from the information provided, the user has the option to ask the doctor a question through a link provided on the information page. The page also contains relevant integrated content, such as the physician’s profile, videos and other related content from throughout the Web site.
An article recently released showcases the success of UMMC’s “Ask an Expert” feature. The Web team has partnered with more than 80 experts from around the organization to answer questions submitted by the public through the Web site. Questions are routed to the appropriate physicians through the Web editors. Questions are answered within three days of submission, but physicians usually accomplish it within 24 hours. Through this one Web site feature UMMC is able to accomplish customer service, community education, patient recruitment and can easily show ROI. Even though the physicians are aware that each question submitted isn’t an automatic patient, they are aware that each question submitted is a potential patient and many have recruited patients, including international patients, by participating and partnering with the Web team.
What about your own organization? Do you have Web savvy physicians participating in Web projects? What is your recruiting advice for the rest of us? Obviously, UMMC shows us it can be done; however, we have to be able to show our physicians why it’s key to have their participation.
The Sky was Falling
February 18th, 2010 Andrew RobertsAt the height of last year’s financial struggles, Greystone.Net sent out a survey to its current and former customers about their budget outlook for the coming year. We certainly struck a chord with our hospital and health system audience, who at the time were wondering if the sky truly was falling. We received a tremendous response, with more than 170 hospitals or health systems submitting a survey. The study yielded some interesting findings. The biggest revelation was that despite 40 percent of hospitals/health systems experiencing some sort of budget cut, 68 percent said funding is stable or increasing for the Web. Based on the findings, Greystone.Net cut back on some of its events that require travel. We also added a new category to our annual Best in Class awards for successful Web initiatives amidst severe budget constraints.
The person behind that user session
December 16th, 2009 Andrew RobertsRecently, Greystone.Net was helping a client hospital with a business plan for its Web site. As part of the arrangement, we designed, launched and managed a web satisfaction study for them. This is something that we are doing more and more these days, as organizations seek to add customer input into their redesign efforts. My background is in research, so I am usually heavily involved with these engagements.
A Philosophical Conundrum
December 9th, 2009 Rachelle MontanoLong ago, in a place far away, I was in college (yes, Virginia, they had college back then). At that time I had an interesting debate with a philosophy professor in which I argued that everything is based on hedonism, since even the followers of Kant adhere to the tenets of duty because it makes them feel good. Since the professor graded the papers, I lost the debate.
The Opportunity and Challenge of Local Search
November 30th, 2009 Rachelle MontanoConvincing a client to pursue local search is a no-brainer. Just show them one sample that lists their competitors at the top of the page with a nice map, and they are sold. Getting it done is another matter entirely.