U.S. Website Developer Launches e-Health Portal for Irish Health Insurer
Bob Pyke Jr
Bob Pyke Jr.
From IHealthcareweek.com http://www.ihealthcareweekly.com/
U.S. Website Developer Launches e-Health Portal for Irish Health
Insurer by Catherine Calacanis
Consumer Health Interactive, a developer of both private label and
cobranded e-health portals, recently announced that the company
will become the first American firm to launch an e-health portal for a
European private health insurer.
The consumer site Vhi healthe, www.vhihealthe.com, was created
for Vhi Healthcare, Ireland’s largest private health insurer with
approximately 1.5 million members. This figure represents almost 40
percent of the total Irish population. Additionally, Vhi provides
healthcare coverage to many Americans who work for U.S.
companies with offices in Ireland, including Intel, Xerox, and
Microsoft.
Vhi healthe is the first website in Ireland to offer customized
healthcare information to the consumer.
While Vhi is more than 40 years old and well-established in the
marketplace, company executives have
been researching ways to ensure that Vhi services are relevant to the
growing ranks of younger plan
members who are increasingly using the Internet in their daily lives.
CHI will provide a private label e-health portal with full content in
eight areas including Fitness and
Nutrition, Lifestyle and Wellness, Women’s Health, Men’s Health,
Children’s Health, Pregnancy and Baby,
Alternative Health, and Ills and Conditions. In addition, the site will
provide a medical library and
personalized weekly newsletter for plan members and nonmembers as well.
"We believe our healthcare products and services have much to offer to
the people who live and work in
Ireland--young and old," Vhi CEO Oliver Tattan said. "However, we also
realize that to enable younger
audiences to benefit from our services, we must use relevant
communication channels. We looked at a
number of firms, both in Europe and the United States."
"We want this site to become the definitive Irish health portal and a
gateway for information to all Vhi
Healthcare constituents including members, physicians, employer groups
and other partners," Tattan
said.
The Voluntary Health Insurance Board (Vhi Healthcare) was founded in
1957 to provide insurance for
people requiring private medical care in Ireland. The main office is
located in Dublin, and the company
has a network of offices throughout Ireland. The health insurance
company’s products include a range of
10 hospital insurance plans, and Vhi Healthcare Global, which insures
Irish people living abroad.