An Introduction to Cyberspace for Medical Professionals BY Sheldon Chang, MSPT Physical Therapist

For smaller medical practices that either do not require their own network nor have the resources to fund one, the Internet may be used so long as speed of transmission is not an absolute requirement. Even well funded organizations who have their own intranets often find it more economical to use the Internet to link together segments of their intranet in remote areas through encrypted connections. With a secure connection through the Internet, a small group of clinics could utilize a central database through a web browser interface (or otherwise).

Any medical group with an on-line presence on the Internet will have the ability to communicate with and sell itself to a clientele population. Regional healthcare organizations could use the WWW to provide information of specific interest to the local population such as warnings of viral infections or ways to combat regional health risks. Such an approach could improve community relations, enhance local communication of health information, and draw in healthcare clients.

Content can be used to draw local interest in a local clinic's web site. Education delivered in outreach programs such as exercise guidelines or nutrition tips can be referenced on-line for people in the community to review or study. Transcripts of speeches, talk radio appearances, or other media events originating from the clinic could find a place on-line. Columbia Healthcare Corporation uses this tactic readily. As was mentioned, Columbia sponsors physician chats on America On-Line and then posts the transcripts of the chat session to its web site as "Recently Asked Medical Questions." The transcripts and other information on-line could be of value and attract the traffic of Columbia's healthcare clients--or those of its competitors.

Since all clinics need patients to stay in business, a web site could help a clinic generate a greater number of clients. Though not the Internet is not completely the "great equalizer" it was hyped up to be, the truth of the matter is that it does help level the playing field considerably for smaller private organizations struggling to stay independent. Some healthcare industry experts in the United States expect an increased incidence of uninsured self-paying healthcare clients in the coming years as frustrations with HMO's continue to grow. Healthcare would become more like a business than ever. Philosophical qualms aside, visibility and marketing could be a life or death asset of a healthcare provider.

Performing outreach programs, sponsoring the right events, and having the company name seen the right places are all common ways of promoting a practice and drawing in future healthcare clients. A website with the right content to draw local people in can be another way. Also through a website, a local clinic could present a more personal image of what its services and atmosphere is like. Exposure can be further increased by exchanging links with other local websites that may be of interest to health information seekers. Also companies like Yahoo have begun to put together virtual yellow pages customized to individual cities and links to registered local websites.

In the current state of affairs, a web page in itself isn't a good advertisement. Concurrent efforts through the traditional medias of print, radio, or television to promote the web address can effectively increase the number of hits to a website. Traditional forms of media have the advantage of being more visible in daily life whereas electronic media has the advantage of lacking restraint on amount of content allowed. Through traditional media, a basic image of the practice can be promoted and the website address distributed. On the website, more information about the clinic can be given to promote the clinic's services.

The ability to freely provide content may be a blessing or a curse. The conventional approach to advertising focuses on promoting an image. With the unlimited content of the digital approach, proving the validity of the promoted image becomes either an added burden or an opportunity. As more and more people "become digital" selling image alone will no longer be enough to capture an information savvy consumer.