For Customer Intelligence Professionals

Social Tools Help Pharma Marketers Build Customer Intelligence

Why Pharma Should Integrate Social Into The Multichannel Customer View

by Carlton A. Doty, June 24, 2009

The pharmaceutical industry faces significant sales and marketing challenges as many of its blockbuster drugs come off of patent and access to healthcare providers becomes increasingly restricted. In the midst of this doom and gloom, some pharma marketers . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: CDHP Platforms, Q2 2009

Several New Leaders Emerge In A Rapidly Maturing Market

by Carlton A. Doty, May 29, 2009

In Forrester's 60-criteria evaluation of consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) platform vendors, we found a tight group of four Leaders with proven ability to serve multiple stakeholders well and to deliver a subscriber experience that stands out from . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

Consumer Engagement In Personal Healthcare Finance Dropped In 2008

Healthcare Marketers Have An Uphill Battle Ahead Of Them

by Carlton A. Doty, Elizabeth Davis, March 11, 2009

According to Forrester's North American Technographics® Healthcare Online Survey, Q2 2008, 39% of non-elderly commercially insured adults in the US now own a health spending account. This document profiles these consumers by account type and uncovers . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Individual Purchasers Of Health Insurance Want Control

The Demographic Profiles And Attitudes Of US Individual Purchasers Of Health

by Carlton A. Doty, Elizabeth Davis, January 28, 2009

Who's purchasing individual insurance? And why? To answer these and other questions, we looked at Forrester's North American Technographics® Healthcare Online Survey, Q2 2008. We found that healthcare, and the purchasing of insurance specifically, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Next Wave Of Individual Purchasers: The (Recently) Uninsured

by Carlton A. Doty, Elizabeth Davis, January 28, 2009

What does the average uninsured person in the US look like? Are there differences among this population? Is there a real market opportunity for healthcare eBusiness managers hoping to gain individual memberships? We see many differences when we compare . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

A Look At The Year Ahead: eBusiness Will Be Crucial To Health Insurers

2009 Will Be A Time Of Uncertainty And Transition In The Healthcare Industry

by Carlton A. Doty, January 22, 2009

A recession is hitting US consumers hard as the financial crisis continues to send ripples across US and global economies. Most US industries are feeling the effects —banks, retailers, auto firms, and even the healthcare industry, which is typically believed . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

Consumers Sound Off On Health Savings Accounts

Unrest Is Looming Behind A Deceptively Positive Attitude Among HSA Owners

by Carlton A. Doty, January 21, 2009

The so-called consumer-directed health (CDH) market has opened a new door for financial services firms. Health savings accounts (HSAs) are the controversial but quickly growing financial "half" of many CDH insurance plans across the US. Forrester estimates . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Canopy Financial Acquires CareGain

Consolidation Continues In A Highly Competitive Market

by Carlton A. Doty, October 22, 2008

Canopy Financial, a technology solutions provider in the consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) market, announced on October 15, 2008, that it had acquired CareGain — a key competitor — from Fiserv. This transaction closes the healthcare chapter for Fiserv, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Who's Walking In To Retail Health Clinics?

Consumer Visits To Retail Health Clinics More Than Double From 2007

by Carlton A. Doty, Elizabeth Davis, September 29, 2008

Walk-in retail health clinics are forging ahead across the US, with new locations opening at a steady pace. In our recent North American Technographics® Healthcare Online Survey, Q2 2008, we found that consumer adoption of such clinics has risen from . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

The Truth About Consumer-Directed Health Plans

HSAs Swell To More Than 6 Million Accounts And More Than $8 Billion In Assets

by Carlton A. Doty, September 25, 2008

The so-called consumer-directed health (CDH) market plunges its roots deeper into the health insurance industry as US employers continue to fight the rising costs of healthcare and more consumers find themselves in unfamiliar territory. Once referred . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How To Become An eBusiness Powerhouse

Introducing Forrester's Framework For eBusiness Strategy

by Carlton A. Doty, Elizabeth Davis, September 8, 2008

Forrester interviewed and surveyed dozens of seasoned eBusiness professionals representing a wide cross-section of industries — including financial services, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, and travel — to better understand common eBusiness . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Is Your eBusiness Team Ready For Prime Time?

Introducing Forrester's eBusiness Maturity Model

by Carlton A. Doty, Elizabeth Davis, August 21, 2008

How does your eBusiness team stack up against others? How mature is the average eBusiness team? What characteristics should an eBusiness team exhibit — and excel at? To answer these and other common questions we're hearing from our eBusiness and channel . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

Benchmark 2008: Healthcare Consumers' Tepid Online Channel Uptake

North American Consumer Technographics

by Carlton A. Doty, July 23, 2008

Now more than ever, the Web is teeming with health-related content as new sites, products, and services seem to flood the market under the health and wellness guise. So how are consumers responding? Our latest research shows that health insurers and pharmaceutical . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Social Technographics® Of US Online Health Information Seekers

by Carlton A. Doty, July 11, 2008

The explosion of consumer adoption of social technologies is changing the nature of relationships between companies and their customers. eBusiness professionals in the healthcare industry need to come to grips with this trend, understand how it applies . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Payer-Provider Connectivity: How Far Have We Come, And Where Are We Going?

Multipayer Portals Are Emerging As Providers' Preferred Channel

by Carlton A. Doty, June 11, 2008

Payer-provider connectivity remains quite fragmented in the US. As the feds gear up for the inaugural trial of a nascent Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) in late 2008, many payers and providers still slog though basic transactional processes . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Welcome To The Jungle: Google, Microsoft, And Revolution Tout Cures For Healthcare Maladies

Open Platforms Require eBusiness Executives To Plan For Privacy Protection

by Carlton A. Doty, March 19, 2008

More than 28,000 executives attended the 2008 Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) convention, which featured nearly 900 exhibitors and 220 new product debuts. The underlying themes were nothing new: open standards, interoperability, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How To Use The Web To Attract And Retain Individual Health Plan Membership

Forrester Exposes Glaring Lack Of Loyalty In A Highly Price-Sensitive Market

by Carlton A. Doty, March 14, 2008

Individual consumers seeking health coverage are increasingly going online to find it, but today, many health insurers' Web sites are ill-prepared to turn these visitors into profitable members. Forrester estimates that the individual health insurance . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: Healthcare Claims Platforms, Q1 2008

TriZetto And DST Health Solutions Lead In A Highly Consolidated Market

by Carlton A. Doty, January 17, 2008

Following significant consolidation in the healthcare claims platform space over the past two years, Forrester evaluated eight products among the remaining four leading vendors across 61 criteria. TriZetto and DST Health Solutions are Leaders, thanks . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Are Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits Eroding?

A Joint Forrester And Employee Benefit News Study Shows That Benefits Richness Declines As HSAs Gain Steam

by Carlton A. Doty, December 27, 2007

The 2007 Employee Benefit News/Forrester Research Benefits Decisions' Impact Study of more than 900 benefits professionals examines employers' overall benefits strategies. One of the top concerns among benefits managers is healthcare. Although health . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

CDHP Product Managers: Re-Examine Your Platform Options

Express Scripts' Acquisition Of ConnectYourCare Ensures Long-Term Viability

by Carlton A. Doty, November 15, 2007

On October 11, 2007, Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) — one of the largest pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) in the US — announced its acquisition of ConnectYourCare (CYC). Although we ranked CYC as a Leader in the 2006 Forrester Wave™ evaluation of . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The $115 Billion Individual Health Insurance Opportunity

A Market That Is Ripe For The Picking

by Carlton A. Doty, October 5, 2007

The individual health insurance market is slowly but steadily growing, driven by the gradual erosion of employer-sponsored coverage, the rising population of uninsured, and a government that continues its efforts to expand coverage to all citizens. To . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Why Health Plan Consumer Portals Need A Makeover

A Call For eBusiness Professionals To Respond To Industry Transformation

by Carlton A. Doty, September 12, 2007

The needs of online healthcare consumers are evolving, and many of the tools that plans make available to them aren't keeping up. The good news is that consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) members are more engaged and visit plan-specific Web sites more . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Are Consumers Embracing The Convergence Of Healthcare And Finance?

Engagement Among Account Holders Is Higher, But An Education Gap Remains

by Carlton A. Doty, August 24, 2007

Growth in the consumer-directed health (CDH) market — the most controversial phenomenon in US healthcare since the rise of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) during the Nixon administration — has eBusiness professionals aflutter. Insurer, employer, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Health Savings Accounts: The Battleground For Customer Loyalty

by Carlton A. Doty, July 31, 2007

Market penetration for health savings accounts (HSAs) among US households is gaining momentum. Even an impending presidential election, in which healthcare reform is a top priority, cannot break the law of inertia in this highly politicized industry. . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Who Buys Drugs Online?

Most Consumers Still Buy Offline And Ignore Drug Advertisements

by Carlton A. Doty, June 12, 2007

Despite the fact that U.S. consumers are shopping for everything from music to clothing online, prescription medications just don't make it to their online shopping lists. Doctors remain the most trusted source of drug-related information, and neighborhood . . .