Healthline Flu Central Gives Consumers
a
Healthy Dose of Vital Information This Flu Season
First Internet Search
Engine for Consumer Healthcare Provides a One-Stop-Shop for Flu
Resources, Including a Flu Shot Locator and the Latest Avian Flu News
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – October 24, 2005 –
Healthline, (www.healthline.com),
the first Internet search engine
dedicated to consumer healthcare, today announced the launch of
Healthline Flu Central, a new topically-focused health channel designed
to bring together critical flu-related information resources to help
users maintain a vigilant watch against a perennial killer, influenza.
Starting today, October 24th, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) recommends that all persons eligible for vaccination
get a flu shot. Up until this date, only people in certain ‘high-risk’
priority groups were eligible. Despite the news coverage that influenza
and vaccine shortages receive, the CDC reports that too few Americans,
especially minorities, are being vaccinated against the annual epidemic.
Designed to provide a one-stop resource for consumer health information
related to influenza, Healthline’s Flu Central provides up-to-date news
and medical articles about the flu – including the H5N1 avian flu virus
– and a U.S. flu shot locator to search for the dates, times and
locations of more than 25,000 clinics where consumers can get
vaccinated. Flu Central also features a real-time interactive map that
monitors and sends email alerts to consumers about the spread of
influenza in their region, and provides the ability to make secure
online contributions to the American Red Cross to help support its
hurricane disaster relief efforts and Biomedical Sciences Campaign. Flu
Central is available through Healthline’s newly announced web site,
www.healthline.com.
“Flu is clearly on everyone’s mind this year,” said West Shell III,
chairman and chief executive officer of Healthline. “Now they can come
to Healthline for up-to-date
news, articles and health tools to better educate themselves and take
the necessary actions to prepare for, and hopefully avoid, the flu
virus altogether this season.”
In an average year, influenza kills an estimated 36,000 Americans and
puts 200,000 in hospitals. Because the virus is constantly changing,
vaccines must be reformulated every year, a difficult and uncertain
process. Concerns about another vaccine shortage this year and
about the spread of the deadly avian flu virus, have heightened
consumer fears this season, and many of those displaced by hurricanes
Katrina and Rita are living in crowded group settings where the virus
is apt to spread rapidly.
One of the important tools available on Healthline’s Flu Central is a
real-time influenza surveillance map that enables visitors to the
Healthline site monitor the spread of flu across the U.S. Information
on the map is captured through daily physicians’ reports, from more
than 3,500 doctors across the country, on confirmed cases of the flu.
Other flu tracking mechanisms do not provide this real-time
information, and thus are not as instrumental in helping consumers
prepare. Flu Central enables users to sign up for email alerts to let
them know when the flu is near their area of residence, and they can
also monitor the map daily, which provides indicators as to the level
of severity of the flu in specific U.S. regions.
“The flu is a virus that affects those infected for a week or longer,
and if left untreated, can lead to more significant illnesses,” said
Norman Proulx, CEO of Healthcare Providers Direct, developer of the
National Flu Surveillance Network. “Surveillance tools, like our
real-time flu testing methods and flu watch map, can help individuals
track the reach of influenza. As concerns rise over avian flu this
year, people need to better understand how flu viruses spread, and they
need guidance to help them prepare. Healthline’s Flu Central is an
important public service that gives consumers the tools and information
to help them take action against the flu.”
Founded in 1999, Healthline is already used by leading healthcare
providers such as Merck, PacifiCare, and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical
Center to deliver critical resources and tools to both consumers and
members. Last week’s announcement marks the first time that
Healthline’s advanced search capabilities and navigation tools have
been made freely available to the public.
About Healthline
Healthline Networks, Inc. provides the fastest, easiest way for
consumers to find, understand and manage healthcare information,
empowering them to make more informed decisions that lead to better
health. Created in collaboration with 1,100 physicians and medical
specialists, Healthline’s unique Medically Guided SearchSM
experience is
powered by a taxonomy that encompasses nearly one million medical terms
and synonyms – the largest consumer health taxonomy of its kind, and
one which translates everyday language and precisely matches it to
medical information consumers may not have otherwise known existed –
and Healthline’s HealthWeb, a filtered directory of more than 62,000
health-oriented websites and more than 70 million pages of information.
Healthline’s Medically Guided SearchSM
results, combined with the
company’s visual HealthMaps and the website’s personalization tools,
connect users with the information, people and resources not available
through general search engines or today’s online health destinations.
Based in San Francisco, Healthline is backed by VantagePoint Venture
Partners and JHK Investments, LLC.
Company information:
Bill McGee
Senior Vice President, Marketing Services
415-281-3113
bill@healthline.com
Press Contact:
Colby Zintl
Healthline Networks
415-281-3110
More Healthline Press Releases
