Manhattan Research’s Taking the Pulse® Hospitals sheds light on the consumer and healthcare professional eHealth adoption, activity, and behavioral trends of interest to hospitals and health systems

November 19, 2009, New York, NY – Healthcare market research firm Manhattan Research announces the release of Taking the Pulse® Hospitals, their newest research product. Taking the Pulse® Hospitals draws from the company’s annual consumer and healthcare professional studies and is tailored specifically for the needs of hospital and health system marketing teams. The rich market data, based on over 10,000 in-depth interviews, focuses on the behaviors, attitudes, and future interests of consumers, physicians, and nurses as it relates to their use of technology for health.

Taking the Pulse® Hospitals comes at a time when many hospitals and health systems are re-evaluating their strategies for communicating with patients and stakeholders. Currently, U.S. physicians on average spend a full work day (eight hours) online each week for professional purposes and over two-thirds of consumers turn to the Internet for health and medical information, so it’s only natural that hospitals and health systems are beginning to focus more on digital channels and social media. According to Ed Bennet’s hospital social media blog, over 440 U.S. hospitals use social networking tools like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. Taking the Pulse® Hospitals gives organizations the research tools necessary to shape smarter marketing and communication strategies and includes topics such as the health resource media mix, physician-patient relationship and connectivity, social media, electronic health records, mobile phones and applications, email newsletters, practice technology profile, and patient education.

“The Internet has quickly become a primary resource for consumers, physicians, and nurses to learn about health information and to connect with various stakeholders in the healthcare delivery system,” said Mark Bard, president of Manhattan Research. “In fact, in addition to the overall population of consumers and healthcare professionals reaching an all-time high in 2009, we have seen the utilization of hospital and health system websites increase at a rapid pace over the past five years as the demand for these sites increases and the content they deliver continues to improve.”

Complimentary eHealth White Paper
For a complimentary white paper discussing the latest trends in how consumers and healthcare professionals use the Internet for health, please visit www.manhattanresearch.com/hospitals

About Taking the Pulse® Hospitals 
Taking the Pulse® Hospitals is a market research package tailored for the marketing and communication strategy needs of hospitals and health systems. The product draws from Manhattan Research’s annual studies focused on the eHealth behaviors and activities of consumers and healthcare professionals and is based on over 10,000 in-depth interviews. To purchase Taking the Pulse® Hospitals or to access additional product information, please visit www.manhattanresearch.com/hospitals, email sales@manhattanresearch.com, or call 1-888-680-0800, ext 2.