Health e-People: Health & Health Care Products & Services Online

Health-Related Online Products and Services Likely in 2000 through 2002

• Targeted marketing by niche: women, seniors, and ethnic minority groups
• Targeted marketing by health status, with particular attention to the Chronically Ill and their caregivers
• A proliferation of wireless Internet appliances for health purposes, such as biometric monitoring
• Hybrid (online and offline) brand development
• Online pharmacy benefits management and prescription refills
• Disease management initiatives
• Online clinical trials administration and relevant data available to consumers

Long Term: 2003 Through 2005

The second stage of growth in online health care will happen as the majority of health care stakeholders shift to using the Internet for the business of health care. For this to happen, a critical mass in each sector will go beyond using the Internet for marketing and public education to using it for purposes such as linking and integrating fragmented data sources.

For increasing numbers of processes, doing business exclusively online will become easier and more cost-efficient. Consumers will perceive the better data that results as more complete and readily available and will realize a higher level of customer service. With increased integration of data, outcomes measurement and quality will improve during this later forecast period.

As health care organizations continue to use the Internet for business-to-business transactions, the supply-driven online health care market will transform itself to meet consumer demands. Just as banks encouraged their customers to use efficient, cost-effective automated teller machines (ATMs) by offering discounts and highlighting the convenience and control of such services, health care organizations will recognize the efficiencies of collecting data and administering health care online.

Health-Related Online Products and Services Likely in 2003 through 2005

• Links between patients and providers: physicians, nonphysician clinicians, hospitals, and other health-related services
• A proliferation of health care information brokers for consumers who control their own health spending
• Increased monitoring of patients via Internet-enabled sensors and home diagnostics
• Disease management monitoring and treatment compliance that improve quality and health outcomes for a significant proportion of enrolled patients

Wild Card

A wild card that could markedly increase demand for better information sooner is a large shift from defined-benefit to defined-contribution insurance, with employers stepping out of the role of health insurance broker and shifting the onus of designing and selecting health insurance packages to their employees. In a defined-contribution environment, consumer demand for information and services would create market opportunities for health care information and service brokers. The question remains whether employers are unlikely to make such a bold move in such a strong economy without a significant change

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