Parks Associates: 57% of U.S. Broadband Households With Children Access at Least One Health Portal per Month

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwired - Aug 19, 2015) - New digital health research from Parks Associates finds 50% of all U.S. broadband households use at least one healthcare portal per month, but only approximately one-fourth of these users conduct more than one activity per month. Parks Associates will address healthcare portal use alongside consumer segmentation research during the firm's second-annual Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers, September 9-10 in San Diego, to provide actionable intelligence for service providers and healthcare companies to better engage their customers.

The firm finds households with children are much more likely than those without to use specific online health services regularly, including twice as likely to access personal health data, schedule medical appointments, and view test or lab results on a health portal.

"Many care providers, insurers, and health and wellness players are rolling out new online sites and digital tools to assist consumers in better managing their health," said Jennifer Kent, Director, Research Quality & Product Development, Parks Associates. "However, our research from Patient Portal: Engaging Consumers reveals engaging consumers is not a one-size-fits-all task. Consumer use and interest in online health portals vary by age, gender, the presence of children in the home, and use of digital health devices."

For example, 13% of U.S. broadband households with children at home use a real-time video consultation with an online doctor or nurse at least monthly, compared to only 4% of those without children, according to Parks Associates.

At Connected Health Summit, executives from Eliza Corporation, Higi, Lumiata, and mPulse Mobile will share strategies for engaging consumers with a more personalized approach in the panel session "Personalizing the Consumer Experience: Challenges and Best Practices," Wednesday, September 9, at 10:45 a.m.

• Ash Damle, Founder and CEO, Lumiata
• Chris Nicholson, CEO, mPulse Mobile
• Ralph Perfetto, Ph.D., Chief Analytics Officer, Eliza Corporation
• Dr. Khan Siddiqui, Chief Medical Officer & Chief Technology Officer, Higi

"Each of us seeks personalized, real-time health and care experiences. And yet, we live in a world of connected devices, but disconnected data," said Ash Damle, Founder and CEO of Lumiata. "The exciting opportunity is to deliver analytics that elevate data in a way that is more human -- one that is contextual, anticipatory and interactive."

"Healthcare continues to lag other sectors related to personalization and consumer engagement, even with over $6 billion in new investment flowing into the mHealth space in 2014 alone," said Chris Nicholson, CEO of mPulse Mobile. "We are seeing several bright spots and effective methods that are gaining traction and delivering outcomes. The landscape is shifting quickly, and we are excited to share some of these market trends that will enable an improved healthcare experience."

"The challenge of getting people to manage their medical condition or engage in more healthy behavior isn't necessarily due to a lack of technology or access to digital content -- there are countless websites, portals, social media outlets, and mHealth apps out there. The real science behind consumer health engagement lies in our ability to break through the noise and connect with people in personalized ways -- inspiring them to act in their own way, on their own terms, via their preferred technology," said Ralph Perfetto, Chief Analytics Officer at Eliza Corporation. "To help people navigate their own paths toward optimal health, we all need to leverage each and every communication channel out there that works -- collaborating and sharing information in ways that help people, as well as the healthcare organizations that serve them, achieve desired goals and improve outcomes."

"It takes more than engagement to improve health outcomes," said Dr. Khan Siddiqui, Chief Medical Officer & Chief Technology Officer, Higi. "We must focus on empowerment. At Higi we know the best way to help people live healthier lives is to empower them with personally meaningful data, content and rewards that make healthier choices second nature. Individuals, when armed with their health data because it's easy to collect and manage, can make meaningful improvements in their health that may lead to lasting behavior change."

Registration is open, and media are invited to secure a press pass. For more information about Connected Health Summit visit, www.connectedhealthsummit.com. Follow the conference on Twitter at @CONN_Health_Smt and #ConnectedHealth15. To schedule a meeting with an analyst or speaker, contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com, 720.987.6614.

About Connected Health Summit
Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers analyzes the roles of connected health technologies and innovations in driving changes in consumer behaviors and business models. The event focuses on four areas of consumer health technologies in particular, which all require active consumer participation to be successful: remote health monitoring for accountable care, consumer-centric wellness and fitness solutions, independent living technologies and services, and innovative convenience care models.

The Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers will take place September 9-10 at the Omni Hotel in San Diego, CA. www.connectedhealthsummit.com. Follow the event on Twitter at @CONN_Health_Smt. Subscribe to Parks Associates' digital health newsletter at http://www.parksassociates.com/newsletters_subscribe.