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HealthCentral.com provides comprehensive health information and product lines
Web site also allows its users to conduct basic vision tests.
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EMERYVILLE, Calif. — In the crowded field of Internet healthcare consumer sites, HealthCentral.com not only provides comprehensive, timely health information, but allows users to perform simple diagnostic tests. The publicly traded company (NASDAQ: HCEN) was co-founded in 1998 by popular radio talk-show host Dean S. Edell, MD, who was trained as an ophthalmologist.
The Web site has more that 100 topic centers, ranging from menopause to sleep disorders to eye and vision. Each listing has news articles, commentaries from experts, library resources, books and tapes and other recommended Internet sites.
“It excites me to be able to place an incredible wealth and breadth of information in the hands of consumers, for better or for worse,” Dr. Edell told Ocular Surgery News. He said many doctors resist such Web sites because “often people get really crummy and lousy information. People can receive information that confuses the doctor/patient relationship. But ultimately, information is power.” In fact, “an increasing number of patients are coming into their doctor’s office with an extensive printout on their problem.”
Dr. Edell, who also is a medical journalist, believes that Web sites like HealthCentral.com “are going to push doctors to become smarter and more focused. I think this is going to help make patients more of a partner, instead of the doctor knowing what is best. This is simply the beginning.”
Vision center
The Eye and Vision Center section on the Web site includes answers to questions that Dr. Edell has answered in the media, such as “Will staring at a candle damage my eyes?” and “Can I self-medicate pink eye?” Some of the passages are actual transcripts from his syndicated radio show, which is carried by about 320 stations, with an estimated weekly listenership of 8 million. The Best Doctors section also answers some of these same questions. On the other hand, the People’s Pharmacy section addresses, for example, “the herbs, foods and vitamins that help or don’t help cataracts, and drug interactions in your eye,” Dr. Edell said.
The eye and vision center also has Internet links to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Lighthouse International and The Glaucoma Foundation.
Visual screening tools
More unique to the Web site, though, are simple interactive diagnostic tests. “We’re actually offering some visual screening tools online,” Dr. Edell said. These include the Amsler grid for macular degeneration and field visual exams. “We’re also trying to figure out a way to help people decide the strength needed for over-the-counter reading glasses, which has become a very popular item,” Dr. Edell said. In addition, users can see and learn about their blind spot. “This fascinates people. They learn that we all have a blind spot,” Dr. Edell said. “People also learn that when that blind spot becomes slightly larger than normal, this could be an early sign of glaucoma.”
Among the “goofy things online is how to move only one eye,” Dr. Edell said. “With this, people hopefully become more aware of strabismus and eye-movement disorders.” However, self-testing “should not alter the number of times a person sees his physician. For instance, examining your own breasts does not take the place of a mammogram,” he said.
In any event, the Web site is shying away from “directly advising and recommending healthcare professionals to the consumer,” Dr. Edell said. “But we’re giving people the tools to find a healthcare professional they like.” HealthCentral.com also permits users to purchase vision paraphernalia online, including over-the-counter reading glasses, contact lenses and brand-name eye care products.
“We’re trying to raise awareness about eyeballs,” Dr. Edell said. “Eyes are just something we take for granted. We open up our eyes in the morning and ‘bingo’ there they are. We make these assumptions, although there are certain ophthalmic diseases that are very, very subtle.” In short, “we’re trying to figure out a way of getting people involved by drawing them into the subject.”
For Your Information:
- Dean S. Edell, MD, can be reached at HealthCentral.com Inc., 6001 Shellmound St., Ste. 800, Emeryville, CA 94608; (415) 954-7354; fax: (415) 482-8720; e-mail: dean.edell@abc.com. Dr. Edell is cofounder of HealthCentral.com and is a shareholder.