Canterbury Health System’s online health tool ‘a hit’

November 4, 2016

Canterbury Health System’s online health tool ‘a hit’

An online tool designed to help people self-manage their health is proving increasingly popular in Canterbury.

Canterbury people are turning to the Canterbury Health System’s HealthInfo Canterbury website thousands of times a year to get up to date health information.

Carolyn Gullery, Canterbury DHB General Manager Planning and Funding, says the internet is becoming more of a trusted source for health information with unprecedented growth in usage in the last five years.

“HealthInfo – the trusted website Canterbury clinicians refer their patients to for health information – shows page views have grown from around 10,000 per quarter in 2011 to 160,000 views a quarter this year.

“Feedback tells us that the majority of clinicians are referring their patients to HealthInfo to help them self-manage their health.

“We are really encouraged HealthInfo is being used what it was intended for – as a place where people can easily navigate and find trusted, high quality health information that is specific to Canterbury.”

Dr Lucinda Whiteley, Senior Clinical Editor HealthInfo and a Christchurch GP, says HealthInfo is a great website health professionals can direct people to for information and health tips about what they can do to improve their health.

“It has easy to understand local information for people about their condition or medication. That's great because if people understand what’s going on with their own health, and the health of their family or whanau, it means they’re more likely to be able to do the right thing to help stay well,” Dr Whiteley says.

“HealthInfo also has a lot of other topical general health information that anyone can read about, from heart attack risk, to managing fatigue – it really is a brilliant resource for everyone in Canterbury.”

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