Thompson JM; Association for Health Services Research. Meeting.
Abstr Book Assoc Health Serv Res Meet. 1999; 16: 58-9.
Health Services Administration Program, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: There has been dramatic growth in the use of the Internet by health care organizations to communicate and promote their services. Little attention has been given to the development of web sites by health plans. Increasingly, the Internet is used by consumers to seek information on health plans, and to assist them in the selection of a plan. This paper assesses the information provided on Internet sites by the larges HMO health plans in the U.S. STUDY DESIGN: The 20 largest health plans in terms of enrollment in the U.S. were identified from secondary data sources, and the Internet was searched to determine the existence of a Web site. These Web sites were then accessed and content analyzed for the availability of information in twelve areas. These areas included NCQA accreditation, quality/satisfaction, and availabiity of participating provider information, as well as information characterizing the key marketing elements of availability of services, pricing, distribution of services, and promotion of the plan and its services. Descriptive statistics were compiled based on the analysis. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Of the 20 plans in the study, 17 could be tracked to a web site. These sites demonstrate widespread variation in the scope of information made available to consumers. While general information on the scope and locations of services is commonly provided, there is far less information across plans reflecting quality or price information. For example, only two plans included information on monthly premiums. Quality ratings reflecting NCQA accreditation or ratings by other sources were present in less than one-half of the health plan sites. On the other hand, eleven plans offered health behavior advice or links to personal health information, six plans provided a member only web site, and the vast majority of plans (94%) included a participating provider directory. CONCLUSIONS: Marketing of health plans on the Internet is evolving as the use of Web sites grows in popularity. This analysis of web sites shows differences among plans in their dissemination of plan information. For example, while the literature points to the value of quality information to consumers, these plans do not include much quality information in their web sites. These differences in plan information on the web may reflect unique differentiation strategies using the Internet, since not all of the classic marketing elements are used by all plans in their communication. These differences among web communications could yield differences in the ability of plans to meet consumers' information needs as they make decisions on health plans. IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY, DELIVERY OR PRACTICE: This study offers some insight into how the largest health plans communicate to consumers on the Internet. Use of web sites by health plans as a means of informing consumers and facilitating their choice of plans is likely to increase in the future. It is important to monitor these sites to determine the changes in substance and specificity of plan information, and to assess the role of Internet information in health plan decision-making by consumers.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Advertising as Topic
- Choice Behavior
- Costs and Cost Analysis
- Data Collection
- Decision Making
- Directory
- Health Maintenance Organizations
- Internet
- Marketing
- United States
- economics
- hsrmtgs
Other ID:
UI: 102194574
From Meeting Abstracts