Winners of the 2017 eHealthcare Leadership Awards were announced on October 25, at a special keynote presentation at the 21st Healthcare Internet Conference in Austin, Texas. The Hospital Digital Experience Index (HDX Index) produced by Connective DX won Gold in the “Best Annual or Special Report” category. Connective DX is especially proud of this award because it was the only agency/corporate vendor to receive an award in that category.

“Digital marketing and communications in healthcare organizations continue to evolve rapidly and we were thrilled to recognize the best of the best in the industry,” says Matt Humphrey, president of Plain-English Health Care, and producer of the eHealthcare Leadership Awards. “We see winning organizations focusing on improving the patient or consumer experience in everything they do from web and app design to content, rich media, social networking and marketing campaigns.”

Jane Weber Brubaker, chair of the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, notes that “Winners range from small and large healthcare provider organizations, to business-to-business and medical device companies, but they share these common attributes: they understand their target audience, and they know how to present information in a format that is both pleasing to the eye and highly functional. Visitors to these sites can easily find what they are looking for and accomplish what they set out to do. That experience creates a bond between the user and the organization’s brand—and it drives business outcomes.”

Winners of platinum, gold, silver, and distinction awards represented 17 industry classifications, from hospitals and health systems to pharmaceutical firms and online health companies. Over 200 organizations, representing a broad industry spectrum, received recognition for their outstanding websites and digital communications. Awards were given in 15 different categories: Best Mobile Communications, Best Patient Access and Convenience, Best Site Design, Best Healthcare Content, Best Interactive, Best Care/Disease Management, Best Annual or Special Report, Best Internet Home Page, Best Doctor Directory, Best Social Networking, Best Rich Media, Best Marketing Campaign, Best Overall Internet Site, Best Intranet, and the eHealthcare Organizational Commitment Award.

Judges looked at how websites and other digital communications compared with others in their organization’s classification. A total of 116 individuals familiar with healthcare and the internet reviewed entries based on a proprietary multi-point standard of Internet excellence. The best overall Internet site category, for example, had to address more than 40 factors. See the full list of judges.

View the full list of 2017 eHealthcare Leadership Award winners.