Article
Are you engaging with your urology patients electronically?
Web-based communication has become increasingly important for creating a more effective patient experience.
Key Points
More than information retrieval
Lombardi describes two types of Web sites that are most prevalent in the health care industry today: static sites and interactive sites. The traditional Web site of the Web 1.0 era is what we would consider a static Web site. These "brochureware" sites may look great at first glance, but in reality, they offer no more value to patients than a business card and a tri-fold, tri-color brochure on expensive card stock. Patients may take a peek once or twice, but they won't stay long and will rarely return. Lombardi quotes a technology business saying: "It will not make the eyeballs stick or the phone ring."
By comparison, Lombardi points out that an interactive Web site is designed with the patient in mind. Where Web 1.0 focused on one-way communication, Web 2.0 defines the more interactive and dynamic phase of the World Wide Web and has opened up a new avenue in which patients can participate and even manage their health through improved patient-practice communication.
