Geisinger Health System receives 2002 eHealthcare Leadership Award for Web Site

DANVILLE Jan. 2, 2003 - Geisinger Health System's web site, www.geisinger.org, has received the 2002 eHealthcare Leadership Award of Distinction for best health/health care content.

Geisinger was among more than 150 health care organizations, representing a wide industry spectrum, receiving recognition for its outstanding Web site at a special presentation in Phoenix, Ariz., in November during a health care Internet and technology conference. Sites receiving a 2002 eHealthcare Leadership Award were selected from more than 1,000 entries. Eighty individuals familiar with health care and the Internet judged the entries.

"It is gratifying to have Geisinger named a recipient of this prestigious award," said Frank Trembulak, Chief Operating Officer. "Geisinger Health System has made strategic investments utilizing technology to improve service to our patients and make our business practices more efficient. This award formally recognizes the progress we have made and the efforts of our employees who made this progress possible."

Geisinger's web content includes complete descriptions of its clinical services and facilities; online databases of clinical trials, continuing medical education offerings and job openings; portals for referring physicians to keep track of their patients and for patients to keep track of their medical records; and thousands of pages of easily searchable articles on consumer health care topics. The Geisinger web site conforms to and is certified as complying with the Health on the Net Foundation's principles of conduct. Geisinger's web pages are visited more than 3 million times per year.

"The response was tremendous," says Mark Gothberg, eHealthcare Leadership Awards chairman, in noting the huge number of entries and winners. "Without question, health care organizations increasingly view the web as an important medium for achieving their business objectives. Entries this year reflected greater sophistication overall and more e-business in particular."

Award winners represented 16 industry classifications, from hospitals and health systems to pharmaceutical firms and online health companies. Other award categories were best site design, best interactive site, best health/health care content, best e business site, best care/ disease management site, and best overall Internet site.

"Many very good sites did not win, says Gothberg. "The competition was especially fierce in the large hospital, health care system and managed care classifications." Best interactive, best health/health care content, best site design and best overall Internet site categories drew the most entries.

The eHealthcare Leadership Awards program was developed and first presented in 2000 by eHealthcare Strategy & Trends, a leading Internet resource published by Health Care Communications, Rye, NY. More information, including a complete list of winners and judges, is available on www.strategichealthcare.com