Health Information Seekers Turning to Mobile Devices with Increasing Frequency for Answers to Immediate Medical Needs and Sensitive Health Subjects
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Healthline Networks, the fastest growing provider of intelligent health information services, today announced the launch of the first mobile-optimized health information website - m.healthline.com. As a fully-optimized mobile version of Healthline.com, m.healthline.com provides consumers with the same trusted health reference content and applications such as SymptomSearch™ and TreatmentSearch™, enabling them to make better health and wellness decisions from wherever they are located. This new platform, designed to meet the needs of the 43 percent of Americans with Web-enabled mobile devices1, provides advertisers with a robust marketing vehicle to reach the growing number of consumers seeking health information while away from their desktop PC.
“As consumers acclimate to ‘ambient healthcare’ and the variety of digital, mobile and social tools available for health management, mHealth is transforming the landscape of modern medicine,” said West Shell, chief executive officer and chairman of Healthline Networks, “Now that we are mobile-optimized and users have access to the power of Healthline’s semantic search, rich data and content platform, our next step is to roll out a variety of health, wellness and prevention applications to take advantage of the exciting developments in mobile health.”
Recent data shows that mobile-optimized experiences produced an average 75 percent higher rate of engagements per visit for mobile users.2 According to Morgan Stanley, mobile will overtake desktop in online presence by 20133, and this growing community of mobile users is also more engaged in the online health discovery journey4. Eighty-three percent of wireless internet users have looked online for health information, compared with 70 percent of Internet users who do not use a mobile connection. Healthline has seen a steady increase in site traffic from mobile devices, currently 6 million users annually, a rate that is forecasted to double over the next six months. Moreover, health information seekers who use mobile devices to access the site dramatically over-index for content around private conditions such as mental health, gastrointestinal topics, sexually transmitted diseases and other sensitive health subjects.
http://www.ichartsbusiness.com/mobile-searchers-seek-privacy
“Healthline mobile users have different needs than desktop users— they come to us seeking credible answers to questions about private conditions and when they need immediate information about symptoms like pain, nausea and dizziness,” said David Kopp, Healthline’s senior vice president of consumer media. “Because Healthline mobile is optimized for smaller mobile device screens, it’s simpler for users to access our health content in a streamlined mobile experience and it’s easier for healthcare marketers to engage consumers.”
In addition to fully-optimized mobile versions of the Healthline home page and search engine results page (SERP), the new mobile platform features key mobile optimized products, including:
- SymptomSearch™ – The only semantically-generated, interactive symptom tool, which covers 10 times more symptoms and their likely causes than any other online symptom checkers
- Treatment Search™ – The only online treatment search tool to surface possible treatment options, including medications, diagnostic tests, as well as medical, surgical and alternative therapies
- Comprehensive health reference content—The broadest array of mobile-optimized consumer health content from 18 leading health publishers such as A.D.A.M., Cengage, Gold Standard, Reed Elsevier, and more
Advertising opportunities on the mobile platform are available through the Healthline Media Network, the largest advertising network in the health information category. Users can visit the new Healthline mobile platform at: m.healthline.com.
About Healthline
Healthline Networks is the fastest growing provider of intelligent health information services, enabling 100 million consumers a month to make more confident, informed healthcare decisions. The company's proprietary consumer healthcare taxonomy, the largest of its kind, powers a suite of intelligent health search, content and advertising services. Combining advanced search technology with deep medical expertise, Healthline partners with a network more than 50 trusted destination sites that include publishers, portals, search engines, employers and health plans. Headquartered in San Francisco and ranked #54 in Deloitte's 2010 Technology Fast 500, Healthline is backed by Aetna, GE/NBC Peacock Fund, Investor Growth Capital, Kaiser Permanente, Reed Elsevier, U.S. News & World Report, and VantagePoint Venture Partners. For more information, visit http://www.healthline.com.
| 1 CTIA, Wireless Quick Facts, December 2010 |
| 2 Adobe Industry Insights Blog, April 1, 2011 |
| 3 Morgan Stanley, Global Mobile vs. Desktop Internet User Projection, 2007 – 2015 |
| 4 Pew Internet and American Life Project, February 2011 |
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Dotted Line Communications
Jennifer Conway, 978-463-0289
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