For Customer Experience Professionals

Member Registration Plagues Health Plan Sites

Interviews Of 17 Health Plans Uncover The Need For Email Addresses

by Elizabeth Boehm, November 20, 2009

The Web is becoming a bigger part of health plans' member service and member communication strategies, but health plans struggle to drive adoption. Forrester recently interviewed customer experience professionals responsible for member service Web sites . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

PHRs: Scant Penetration And Lots Of Confusion

Consumers Report On Which Personal Health Records They're Using

by Elizabeth Boehm, November 4, 2009

In a recent Forrester survey, almost one-third of consumers reported having a personal health record (PHR) — the vast majority of which are from their health plan. Forrester doesn't believe it. These high adoption levels don't jibe with either past surveys . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Health Plan Provider Search Tools: It's Time For An Upgrade

by Elizabeth Boehm, October 29, 2009

Consumers tell us that online provider directory tools are convenient and reasonably easy to use but still fall short of helping them make decisions regarding where to get the best care for themselves and their families. To bring provider directories . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

CDHP Member Engagement Slips — Again

Health Plans Can't Count On Plan Design To Drive Healthcare Consumerism

by Elizabeth Boehm, August 26, 2009

Consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) continue to experience rapid growth in adoption. But member engagement has declined for the second consecutive year. CDHP members are now less likely to use online health tools and actively manage their healthcare . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Health Plans' Cross-Channel Service Imperative

Self-Service Success Requires Strong Integration With Phone Channels

by Elizabeth Boehm, August 12, 2009

More than half of US online, nonelderly, commercially insured consumers have visited their health plan's Web site last year. Once there, members avail themselves of an array of administrative tools like finding a doctor, checking a claim, and checking . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

How Medicare Seniors Use Online Health Tools

by Elizabeth Boehm, May 12, 2009

More than 50% of seniors (aged 65 and older) now access the Internet at least monthly. Forrester examined our Consumer Technographics® data to see if health plans need to start focusing more attention and investment on their Medicare sites to meet . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

How To Create A Social Application For Life Sciences Without Getting Fired

Social Strategies That Succeed Within A Regulatory Framework

by Josh Bernoff, April 20, 2009

People with health problems naturally form mutually supportive communities and seek out information about drugs and treatments. And yet, because of restrictive FDA regulations, pharmaceutical and other life sciences companies are terrified to take advantage . . .

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 eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Online Health Sites

Assessing Demand and Value of Health Web Site Customization

by Monique Levy, December 18, 2008

Many health Web sites are increasing investments in personalization and customization to attract and retain valuable audiences. Very recently, WebMD entered into an agreement to acquire QualityHealth.com, which delivers personalized programs to its members, . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Online Health Information

Examining Authority and Influence

by Monique Levy, December 10, 2008

There is growing belief in the market that social media or so-called "health and Web 2.0" will fundamentally shift how consumers obtain health information and make health decisions. If true, the shift will require a drastic and rapid change in online . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Health Management Services

Assessing Consumers' Demand and Providers' Preferences in a Slowing Economy

by Monique Levy, November 18, 2008

Health stakeholders are aggressively pursuing the potential market for online health management services and products. For instance, HealthVault (Microsoft) has already established hundreds of partnerships with various health services, including Kaiser . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Have Consumers Caught Up To Industry PHR Buzz?

A Detailed Look At Who's Keeping Paper, Electronic, And No PHR

by Elizabeth Boehm, October 30, 2008

Employers and health plans want consumers to adopt online personal health records (PHRs) in hopes of containing health costs through better healthcare choices. Unfortunately, consumers have yet to show much interest. A little less than one-third of consumers . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

Technographics® Survey Highlight: North American Technographics Healthcare Online Survey, Q2 2008  (348 KB PPT)

by Jacqueline Anderson, September 24, 2008

This highlight deck summarizes the key findings from Forrester¿s North American Technographics Healthcare Online Survey, Q2 2008.

For Customer Experience Professionals

Topic Overview: Member Experience For Health Plans

Why And How Health Plans Must Embrace Strategic Healthcare Communications

by Elizabeth Boehm, September 22, 2008

Health plans can't afford to deliver subpar member experiences any longer. With a growing individual market, increased cost shifting, and a rising focus on disease and wellness management, strong member experience practices are the price of entry, and . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Social Media in Health

Trends and Tactics to Increase Participation

by Monique Levy, August 22, 2008

A number of health-focused online communities have emerged over the last two years, and many health Web sites, including WebMD, are boosting their community and social efforts.

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 Consumer Market Research Professionals

North American Technographics Healthcare Online Survey, Q2 2008

Technographics Survey, June 30, 2008

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Online Health Behavior

Assessing the Impact of Age

by Monique Levy, May 7, 2008

Some health marketers and product developers are unsure about assumptions they should make regarding age and online behavior.

For Customer Experience Professionals

Medco's Rx For Online Prescription Success

An Examination Of The Design Principles And Practices Behind My Rx Choices

by Elizabeth Boehm, May 1, 2008

The healthcare industry has been slow to adopt the disciplines of scenario design. But an examination of one of the industry's most successful sites proves that designing with a clear understanding of personas and user needs is as applicable in healthcare . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

The ROI Of Health Plans' Online Provider Directory Tool Redesigns

by Elizabeth Boehm, April 18, 2008

Health plan provider directories — online tools that allow health plan members and prospects to search for nearby doctors, hospitals, and other facilities that are in a health plan's network — are the most used online resources at health plan Web sites. . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Reaching The Caregiver Market Across Channels

Caregivers Use The Web For Information And Offline Channels For Emotional Support

by Julie Snyder, April 4, 2008

With advances in medicine lengthening the average life span and baby boomers aging, the number of people older than 65 in the US will more than double in the coming 50 years. As this number of elderly grows, so does the number of caregivers — family members . . .