Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

How patient stories can enhance health websites

Lisa Gualtieri, PhD
Tech
August 22, 2010
Share
Tweet
Share

Stories can enhance health websites because they resonate with health information seekers, who find support and encouragement from the experiences of others like them. Two excellent examples are Weight Watchers’ Success Stories and Livestrong.org’s Survivorship Stories. Both sites include extensive libraries of well-written stories about people’s experiences losing weight and surviving cancer, respectively.

Because of the effectiveness of stories in health websites like these, I challenge my Online Consumer Health students to consider how the inclusion of stories can enhance the websites they design in class. In one assignment, they first review the purpose, length, transparency of authorship, writing style, and perceived accuracy of stories on health websites. Then they either write or reuse stories from other websites for their own sites.

In my constant search for examples to use in class, I came across the stories in RediscoverYourGo. I contacted the developer to learn about the planning and design of the website, particularly how the decision was made to use stories.

I spoke with Simon Lee, CEO of Lee-Stafford on February 8, 2010. RediscoverYourGo was developed for a medical device company, Smith & Nephew, that manufactures parts for hip and knee implants. On the home page, “stories” is one of 4 tabs on the left and 3 links to stories are featured on the lower right next to “Learn from real patients who have rediscovered what it means to live pain free.” The “stories” tab leads to a list of the replacement products headed by, “Real people who have rediscovered their go.”

Each replacement product has story snippets from people who have had surgery to implant that product. The story snippets are brief, first-person quotes and they include the name (generally the first name and last initial but in some cases the full name), city, and product, illustrated by a photograph. Rather than use a headshot, many show active poses and look like they were taken informally, not by a professional photographer (in contrast to the posed “after” pictures on Weight Watchers). There is some duplication, with some people appearing in more than one category, presumably because the person has used multiple products. The first person quotes were extracted from a letter or interview with, as Simon said, “100% real patients.”

Selecting a snippet leads to a longer story in the third person about the person’s experience with pain, learning about and contacting the surgeon, undergoing the surgery, recovering, and developing a post-surgery active lifestyle. The header includes more about the person, including occupation, a larger version of the snippet photograph, and a picture of the replacement product. Many of the stories identify the storyteller’s age, and the photographs indicate age as well. Stories are more likely to resonate with someone who identifies with the storyteller, which, in this case, might be because of replacement product, age, or recreational activity. Weight Watchers facilitates this by sorting stories by gender, age, or total weight loss and inviting a viewer to ”Read about someone like you.”

The use of stories is “a toe in the water” to create an online community for patients with Smith & Nephew products. What lay behind the use of stories, Simon told me, was the desire to create a “patient ambassador network” to capitalize on patient stories. Often patients with debilitating pain became advocates for the surgeon who “fixed” their problem: they wrote letters thanking the doctors who performed their replacement surgery for giving them their life back and were eager to discuss their outcomes with others.

Simon believes the more open use of social media or forums was not possible because of concerns about monitoring, disclosures and privacy, a concern shared by all the major orthopedic and spine device companies. Highlighting patient experiences on a website seemed the best alternative.

The overall website design goal was to modernize the brand and create more youthful and non-surgical-looking site as befitting one of the big growth areas: patients 45+. Previously, the primary target audience was 65+. The focus on the new demographic is because a growing number of younger people are seeking partial replacements. The potential exists that they will then become loyal customers to the brand and their surgeon.

Simon believes that healthcare is local and that decisions to choose care are “based on who can treat me and where can I be treated.” Furthermore he believes that “educated patients are happy patients and happy patients are advocates for the doctor who ‘healed’ them.”

Lisa Gualtieri is Adjunct Clinical Professor in the Health Communication Program at Tufts University School of Medicine and blogs at her self-titled site, Lisa Neal Gualtieri.

Submit a guest post and be heard.

Prev

10 top health blog posts, July 2010

August 22, 2010 Kevin 0
…
Next

Prevent recurring urinary tract infections (UTIs)

August 22, 2010 Kevin 3
…

ADVERTISEMENT

Tagged as: Health IT, Patients

Post navigation

< Previous Post
10 top health blog posts, July 2010
Next Post >
Prevent recurring urinary tract infections (UTIs)

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Lisa Gualtieri, PhD

  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    The ALS ice bucket challenge: Analysis of why it went viral

    Lisa Gualtieri, PhD
  • An interview with Jessie Gruman

    Lisa Gualtieri, PhD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Break the cycle of intimate partner violence

    Lisa Gualtieri, PhD

More in Tech

  • Why interoperability is key to achieving the quintuple aim in health care

    Steven Lane, MD
  • How Mark Twain would dismantle today’s flawed medical AI

    Neil Baum, MD and Mark Ibsen, MD
  • 9 domains that will define the future of medical education

    Harvey Castro, MD, MBA
  • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

    Sandra Johnson
  • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

    David Carmouche, MD
  • Why innovation in health care starts with bold thinking

    Miguel Villagra, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Mastering medical presentations: Elevating your impact

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Why the pre-med path is pushing future doctors to the brink

      Jordan Williamson, MEd | Education
    • Why what doctors say matters more than you think [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden incentives driving frivolous malpractice lawsuits

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Addressing the physician shortage: How AI can help, not replace

      Amelia Mercado | Tech
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
    • Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Why the pre-med path is pushing future doctors to the brink

      Jordan Williamson, MEd | Education
    • Why the fear of being forgotten is stronger than the fear of death [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How a rainy walk helped an oncologist rediscover joy and bravery

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • How inspiration and family stories shape our most meaningful moments

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • A day in the life of a WHO public health professional in Meghalaya, India

      Dr. Poulami Mazumder | Physician
    • Why women doctors are still mistaken for nurses

      Emma Fenske, DO | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 5 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Mastering medical presentations: Elevating your impact

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
    • Why the pre-med path is pushing future doctors to the brink

      Jordan Williamson, MEd | Education
    • Why what doctors say matters more than you think [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The hidden incentives driving frivolous malpractice lawsuits

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • Addressing the physician shortage: How AI can help, not replace

      Amelia Mercado | Tech
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
    • Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Why the pre-med path is pushing future doctors to the brink

      Jordan Williamson, MEd | Education
    • Why the fear of being forgotten is stronger than the fear of death [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How a rainy walk helped an oncologist rediscover joy and bravery

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • How inspiration and family stories shape our most meaningful moments

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Physician
    • A day in the life of a WHO public health professional in Meghalaya, India

      Dr. Poulami Mazumder | Physician
    • Why women doctors are still mistaken for nurses

      Emma Fenske, DO | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

How patient stories can enhance health websites
5 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...