However, the use of the Internet can also result in more patient self-diagnosis and greater exposure to healthcare advertising, which can increase consumer demand for visits for imagined illnesses, or for new, advertised but untested or unnecessary drugs.
The target market for these new healthcare distribution channels
Consumers who use the Internet frequently who wish to find a provider in the area, providers seeking to reduce their administrative costs, consumer wishing to see if a particular provider is in-network, are all potential ways for using the Internet to access information about their healthcare plans and increase this medium's usefulness for consumers accessing data through larger channels and venues.
The way technology is used to offer services at these new channels
The ability to provide information to a wide range of people enables, theoretically, an increasingly expansive health care insurance bureaucracy to disseminate information to consumers. For example, consumers...
Members can set up an account where they can see if a provider is in-network, and learn about their coverage. In short, the types of information that used to be disseminated personally, by speaking to an administrative assistant at a doctor's office or hospital, is now put in the hands of the consumer. Rather than a friendly voice, there are friendly graphics that tell the user that the corporate entity cares about their health, and to underline this fact the website provides articles about preventative self-care and living a healthy lifestyle.
Works Cited
About Soundbite." (2007). Soundbite Official Website. Retrieved 23 Jul 2007 at http://www.soundbite.com/industries/healthcare
Aetna. (2007). Official Website. Retrieved 23 Jul 2007 at http://www.aetna.com/index.htm
