Mar 9, 2010, 17:22 by User Not Found

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. Unfortunately, most of the sites I review are lacking in several areas. Unsurprisingly, research indicates that, although hospitals are improving their online presence, users are unimpressed with hospital Web sites. According to Forrester research, users find hospital Web sites to be incomplete in content and functionality, lacking in contextual help, and containing very little transactional information. In fact, hospitals trail other industries in providing visitors with a satisfactory experience.  Based on my own observations and research, customers like content-heavy media sites and transaction-focused information. Transactional activities are a plus in the hospital world. Pre-registration, online bill management, appointment requests, or even scheduling, and job applications, to name a few, are online services hospitals can give site visitors that will result in decreased administrative costs and improvements in productivity. Unfortunately, many hospitals and healthcare systems are deficient in these and many other areas. The following is a list of features that should be included on any hospital or healthcare system Web site, but I have found to be non-existent or in need of improvement on many of the sites I have reviewed:

• Patient portals:  If a patient portal exists on a Web site, it is usually deficient in providing access to personal health information and does not provide targeted information to subscription users.
• Mobile sites: Mobile sites are becoming more popular, and especially mobile applications, but most hospital sites do not have a mobile-friendly version of their Web site. Generally, mobile Web sites do not meet Wireless Application Protocol or WAP standards; because of this, sites do not provide key information such as directions, phone numbers, health content or physician information in a user-friendly format.
• Appointment requests: More hospitals and health systems provide appointment request forms but tend not to integrate the forms into physician directories.
• Class registration: Class registration is provided on many of the Web sites I have reviewed, but most are missing several key elements. Some do not provide a searchable calendar, while others do not offer cancellation policies or instructions on how to register for a class.
• Social media: Several hospitals and healthcare systems at least provide links to their Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages but shy away from taking social media to the next level by integrating this information into other relevant sections of the Web site, such as a hospital service or department.
• Physician and nursing recruitment: Reaching out to this target audience is usually a strategic goal for most hospitals, yet few provide sections dedicated to career paths or doctor/nursing-specific information on the Web site.
• Pricing: Pricing is a sensitive subject, but it has become more and more important to consumers. Even so, a good number of hospitals and health systems are hesitant to provide information on even the most basic costs.

  These are only a few of the high-level features that hospital or healthcare systems need to address to increase customer satisfaction and improve their online presence.  Hospitals need to be reminded that their Web sites are a part of the hospital’s image and exist to enable site visitors to accomplish specific goals.  Even slight improvements in these areas would provide a better opportunity for them to meet those goals.