To help Temple University Health System rise in rank from among the millions, the Marketing and Information Systems Departments recently launched the first phase of a project to completely redesign and upgrade the Web site of every entity within the Health System.

Starting with new sites for Temple University Hospital
and the Health System's specialty service lines, which
launched March 24, the high-tech renovation puts a wealth of up-to-date and easy-to-navigate healthcare
information right at a potential patient's fingertips.

Visitors to the new TUH site -- tuh.templehealth.org
-- will surely notice a dramatic change in the look and feel of the home page. It's more attractive, more intuitive and easier to navigate. But the beauty of this site is more than skin deep.

The retooled site also offers more robust content – from streaming videos featuring patient testimonials to doctors in action to virtual tours of hospital facilities and programs. Plus, there's a new internal search engine and a 24/7 online appointment request form.

The Web site's most prominent feature is the Physician Search function, which plays a central role in the new Web strategy.

"In our research, we learned that 72 percent of those
who research medical facilities online say the physician who will be primarily responsible for their care is the deciding factor in choosing a center for treatment," said Charles Soltoff, Associate Vice President for Marketing for TUHS.

To make physician information easier to find, the "Find A Doctor" function provides a vast amount of information on each physician in the Health System -- including their education, their specific areas of expertise and interest, and journal articles they have written.

 

And, thanks to the online appointment request feature, users who find a doctor they want can instantly move on to the next step of arranging to meet with him or her. It's an innovation that has become tremendously popular among users since it was implemented last year. Since then, the call center has averaged approximately 70-80 online requests for appointments each month, according to Joe Alfonsi, Call Center Director.

 

In Fiscal Year '09, Marketing and Information Systems will start work on upgrades to the rest of the TUHS Web sites. While every site will undergo a major makeover, the personality of each entity will show through in each new site.

"Each of our entities is different, with a unique personality and blend of services. We'll take great care to make sure the new sites reflect their essence, so patients old and new will get a clear picture of what we have to offer," said Robert Clough, TUHS Web Marketing and Business Development Manager.

To help spread the word about the enhanced Web sites, the marketing team also plans to embark on an online advertising campaign targeting search engines such as Google and Yahoo.

In the end, the goal of the upgrade is to ensure that the medical innovations and clinical expertise within the Health System are delivered to Web-savvy patients through an equally innovative online experience.

"This is an exciting time. We now have the experience and the commitment to make our Web site more than a billboard along the information superhighway," said Loretta Lawler, Associate Director of Web Communications for TUHS. "Now, we can create a tailor-made interactive experience, by giving patients the information they want when they want it."