With the rise of consumer-driven health care, more people are seeking online support for their medical decisions. “Healthseekers” are an ever-growing population segment, many of whom are more comfortable seeking healthcare answers online than via the phone. HouseCalls Online acts as a symptom checker and provides self care guides for use by consumers and patients.  HouseCalls is already in use by more than 150 hospitals, health plans and practices. 

The HouseCalls content is consistent with the clinical protocols used by primary care practices.  Physicians and nurses are already familiar and comfortable with the flow and logic of these care guides. Incorporating useful consumer-oriented tools on your website or portal is a core component of patient retention and loyalty.

The advantages of implementing HouseCalls and Parent Advice Messages on your website or portal are many:

• Provide instant access to symptom decision-making 24 hours per day
• Support self management of minor health issues
• Reduce after-hours phone calls to nurse advice lines  for low-acuity health questions
• Reduce office-hours phone calls to physician practices for information regarding common health and behavioral concerns
• Increase value of your website/portal in the eyes of your customer, as demonstrated by repeat utilization
• Establish loyalty to your organization, not a third-party vendor (tired of the WebMD marketing machine?)