iVillage Bows New Health Portal
- by Mark Walsh @markfwal, January 5, 2007
The site, iVillage Total Health, which can be accessed directly at health.ivillage.com or through the iVillage home page, adds 13 new "condition centers" covering topics ranging from cancer to skin and hair. It also offers new tools for identifying causes of illness symptoms, and for a Healthy Living diet program.
Another new feature incorporates technology from GE Healthcare (a corporate sibling of iVillage parent company NBC Universal) into iVillage's online pregnancy calendar. Women indicate how far along they are on the calendar to view 3-D sonogram images at the exact stage of their pregnancies.
The launch of iVillage Total Health marks the biggest upgrade to the site's health offerings since it acquired Healthology, a medical video site, and HealthCentersOnline, a health portal, in 2005.
To draw more visitors to the site, experts from iVillage Total Health will appear on regular health segments on the NBC's "Today Show." And "iVillage Live," iVillage's new companion TV show, will feature discussions based on Total Health content.
In addition to taking on top health properties such as WebMD and MSN Health, iVillage Total Health will also be competing with upstarts such as Revolution Health, the new health portal being launched by AOL co-founder Steve Case. A preview site says that registered members will be able to rate doctors, pose questions to experts, and learn about health risks. Users also get profile pages to help connect with others and set personal goals.
EverydayHealth.com, a health portal featuring 40 condition centers started by Waterfront Media last October, is another newer competitor.
So far, Total Health is relying on iVillage's existing pharmaceutical and health-related advertisers, including Pfizer, but plans to announce new sponsors soon. Over the next 18 months, iVillage plans to further expand Total Health with more social networking tools and features stemming from partnerships with GE Healthcare and NBC.
