Sharp HealthCare Reinvents Web Presence Using CommonSpot by PaperThin

BOSTON--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--PaperThin, Inc., a leading Web content management solution provider, today announced that customer Sharp HealthCare completely reinvented its Web presence—including several new websites and its corporate intranet—using CommonSpot, the number one ColdFusion-based Web content management solution. Then, using only two development resources, Sharp re-designed and re-launched its website with added features built using CommonSpot’s Application Development Framework—all accomplished in under a year.

“Sharp’s entire Web presence has been elevated and we’re really happy to have contributed to that outcome.”

Sharp HealthCare was named one of the nation's "Most Wired" healthcare systems for the last eleven years by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine for using technology to enhance quality of care for both patients and staff. Launched in August 2009, Sharp’s newly redesigned website furthers that patient and staff commitment with features including:

MySharp: a patient gateway where members can request or cancel physician appointments; subscribe to Sharp’s email newsletters; get help with bills, make a payment, or update billing information; and request prescription refills
A Multimedia Library: where you can watch patient story Videos and learn about the latest Sharp medical technology; hear Sharp-affiliated doctors and experts discuss top health topics via Podcast; take a Virtual Tour of Sharp’s patient rooms, surgery centers and more; learn about the human body through colorful Animated Illustrations; and discover Sharp HealthCare's latest TV and Radio promotions
Community Applications: apply for a job, become a volunteer, email a patient, find a doctor, make a donation, send a gift, take a quiz, view a baby photo, etc.
Social Media: follow Sharp HealthCare updates (news, blogs, etc.) on popular social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
Multi-lingual Sites: view the websites in English (www.sharp.com) or Spanish (www.sharpenespanol.com)

Sharp’s intranet—SharpNet—has more than 18,000 authenticated users who visit the intranet approximately 23,000 times each day to access Web tools, ERP tools, medical applications and company information. Additionally, every credit card transaction across the entire Sharp HealthCare network of private hospitals, clinics, etc runs through the intranet.

“Healthcare demands rapid development to meet the changing needs of the market. CommonSpot offers us the flexibility needed to develop custom applications and easily integrate with our legacy Web systems and applications. And with hundreds of content contributors, we needed something that everyone would understand right out of the box,” said Lawrence Turner, manager of web development, Sharp HealthCare.

We needed a WCM solution that would handle large site traffic demands, that was easy to use, flexible, and that provided the tools Sharp needed to continue to further develop and expand the website with marketing and community-friendly features such as multimedia, taxonomy, and blogs. CommonSpot fit the bill across the board and has been a great choice,” Turner added.

“Sharp HealthCare is a marquis customer for PaperThin. Ease of integration and app creation, ease of use, and site performance were all critical. Their complex set of needs played right to the strengths of CommonSpot,” said Bob Cellucci, senior vice president, PaperThin. “Sharp’s entire Web presence has been elevated and we’re really happy to have contributed to that outcome.”

CommonSpot is a flexible, scalable, and easy-to-use Web content management solution that enables healthcare organizations (i.e. hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, etc.) to improve productivity and achieve better results from their Web initiatives. Ideal for corporate intranets, Internets, physician portals and extranets, CommonSpot streamlines communications with doctors, administrators, staff, patients, suppliers, laboratories, agencies and other key constituents. CommonSpot’s inherent ease-of-use enables non-technical users to publish any type of content (text, forms, video, images, RSS, etc.) via any delivery channel (Web, streaming media, mobile phone, iPod) with minimal IT involvement making them more self-sufficient and productive. The solution’s inherent flexibility and scalability empowers IT and site administrators to easily adapt the system—whether you want out-of-the-box applications that you can customize; the ability to create your own applications through a development framework; or the ability to easily integrate with 3^rd party content and software providers such as health content libraries and patient management systems. CommonSpot serves as a Web foundation that maximizes the delivery, value, and timeliness of the content you create.

About Sharp HealthCare:

Sharp HealthCare is a not-for-profit integrated regional health care delivery system based in San Diego, California. Sharp includes four acute-care hospitals, three specialty hospitals and two medical groups, plus a full spectrum of other facilities and services.

About PaperThin:

PaperThin, Inc. is a privately held MA-based company. Founded in 1993, PaperThin’s flagship product CommonSpot™ is a leading content management solution that empowers organizations of all sizes to improve productivity and derive more value from their Web strategies. PaperThin’s customers span multiple industries, including: government, healthcare, higher education, and association/non-profit sectors; and include organizations such as American University, Cornell University, ESAB Welding & Cutting, Hasbro, Mayo Clinic, National Park Service, Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Stanford University, University of Wisconsin, US Senate, and the United Way of America. Visit PaperThin at www.paperthin.com.

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