Mobile Strategy for Hospitals and Health Systems: The Digital Healthcare Imperative

August 31, 2016

By now, most of us have heard that the number of mobile users is finally surpassing the number of desktop users. Although this doesn’t necessarily mean desktop is going away—78 percent of digital users use both desktop and mobile platforms, according to a 2015 report from ComScore—what is startling is that the other 22 percent are divided almost evenly between mobile-only and desktop-only users, and for the first time, mobile-only users slightly edged out desktop users (11.3 percent vs. 10.6 percent).

Neal Linkon, Director of Digital Engagement, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

Neal Linkon, Director of Digital Engagement, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

To learn more about how these dynamics play out in real life, we spoke with Neal Linkon, Director of Digital Engagement at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and Kathy Divis, President of Greystone.Net (and member of the eHST Editorial Advisory Board) after their presentation at the 2016 Healthcare Marketing & Physician Strategies Summit, “The Mobile-Only Customer: Are You Ready?”

Here are just a couple of their comments on the implications of mobile-only customers for healthcare organizations:

“The mobile revolution isn’t coming,” says Linkon. “It’s in your rearview mirror, because it’s already here.”

“It’s coming, and it’s coming like a freight train, and it’s probably not going away,” says Divis.

With consumers shifting rapidly to mobile or multi-platform usage, a mobile strategy is critical to understanding their desired interactions with healthcare organizations, and developing a plan to respond. Mobile is no longer just an add-on to the digital strategy. In the not-so-distant future, it may be the center of the digital strategy. A pediatric hospital, with young patients and their young, mobile-oriented parents, can’t afford to wait and see.

Read our full article now to take a close-up look at one health system’s mobile game plan, complete with successes, surprises, and setbacks. We’ll also share Divis’s perspectives on the number one priority for healthcare organizations: Beyond Your Responsively Designed Website: Why You Need a Mobile Strategy Now.

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President

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