October 9, 2000
HOPKINS LAUNCHES PROJECT TO LICENSE CONSUMER HEALTH CONTENT HopkinsHealth Will Build On Successes of Previous Online, Print Projects
Johns Hopkins University and Health System today announced the launch of HopkinsHealth, which will license Hopkins-branded consumer health information to the online community.
HopkinsHealth draws on one of the nation's most recognized and respected names in health care and three-plus years as content partner on one of the Web's most authoritative and respected health sites, HopkinsHealth's content database contains more than 100,000 documents--the equivalent of a 125 volume health encyclopedia--of consumer health information developed with hundreds of faculty members from the university's four health divisions. The HopkinsHealth medical/editorial team will continually develop new content to complement its more than 30 existing topic areas.
"HopkinsHealth is a wonderful opportunity for this institution to continue to create the "gold standard" for consumer health information that, we hope, will allow people to lead healthier lives," said Edward D. Miller Jr., M.D., CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine.
"The great strength of this endeavor is that we bring to it the collective excellence and expertise of clinicians and scientists, working at the nation's leading hospital and schools of public health, medicine and nursing," said Alfred Sommer, M.D., dean of the Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. "That health care authority, available through online and more traditional channels of communications, will surely have a positive impact on people's lives."
The HopkinsHealth business strategy, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine's CFO, Rich Grossi, is to support forward-thinking start-up and established online partners rather than create another consumer health Web site.
"Hopkins can best accomplish one of its most fundamental missions--to educate and to inform--by developing and maintaining the most substantive and authoritative health content we can and then by supporting smart, aggressive companies that have a clear and sustainable vision for how best to reach and really help consumers and patients," Grossi said.
HopkinsHealth is preparing to enter the marketplace with four initial partners, each one targeted to a different segment of the online health care market. (Information on these partners will be released as agreements are finalized.)
HopkinsHealth does have a web presence, at www.HopkinsHealth.com. It's primary function is as a starting-point for potential partners, who can get information there about the content licensing service. And only potential partners will be given password access to the actual consumer health content database. What the public can find there is a gateway to Johns Hopkins University Web sites, the latest health-related research news and an opportunity to purchase a wide range of Hopkins' consumer health publications and services.
HopkinsHealth is managed by the School of Medicine's Office of Consumer Health Information, which oversees the commercial consumer health content program for the university's health divisions and coordinates the editorial participation of their faculties.
"I have been impressed by the dedication of so many faculty members across the health divisions to get right in the trenches of the editorial process to ensure that the consumer information we develop is, above all else, accurate and timely and just the right tone for the audience," said Sue K. Donaldson, Ph.D., dean of the Hopkins School of Nursing.
Johns Hopkins is one of the nation's oldest and best known academic medical centers. Based on a 44-acre campus in downtown Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions consist of the 111-year-old Johns Hopkins Hospital and three health-related divisions of The Johns Hopkins University -- the schools of medicine, nursing, and public health. Hopkins' faculty annually receive more biomedical research support from the federal government than the faculty at any other university. In addition to Hopkins Hospital, The Johns Hopkins Health System includes Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Howard County General Hospital along with satellite clinics, physician networks, and a home care service.
###
Media Contact: Gary Stephenson 410-955-5384[email protected]
RSS