Case Studies of Implementation of Interactive E-Health Tools on Hospital Web Sites1

Using content analysis and in-depth interviews, this research has examined three best-practice hospitals in terms of their approaches to implementing interactive e-health tools on their Web sites. The study has demonstrated hospital administrations' visions of and insights into developing e-health. It concludes that the implementation of interactive e-heath tools can be area-and hospital-size-indiscriminative; such implementation accomplishes multiple goals, including service, communication, and education, and serves as an important differentiator in a competitive industry; by understanding the best practice, decision-making, planning processes, and outcomes of implementing e-health online, as well as potential obstacles to such implementation, hospitals can take the lessons learned and design effective interactive e-health tools on their Web sites.