Every week El Rio Health staff members are sharing information about their health and giving advice for staying healthy." El Rio Health is an online community that allows users to find useful tips and information from registered dietitians and physicians. Each week, the company posts a podcast where dietitians answer questions from the audience about topics like exercise, diet, sleep, stress management, and managing daily life. The company also offers monthly articles designed to get readers thinking about health in new ways. El Rio Health's mission is "to make healthcare accessible for everyone through digital engagement.
For the first time in history, we have technology that allows us to monitor our health and wellness from any location, with any device at any time." That's a big claim for a small service that helps you stay healthy through daily check-ins. But as a dietitian with long experience working with clients all over the country, I can tell you that this service delivers. There are so many benefits to using El Rio Health, no matter what your health goals are.
Interview with El Rio Health founder and CEO Dr. Kenneth Lin
Why did you start El Rio Health?
I started El Rio Health because, at the time that I started it, there was no place on the Web where you could go to get objective advice from health professionals on a range of health topics. When someone had a question about their health they usually ended up talking to their friends, family, and colleagues which often leads to contradictory opinions that are not supported by science or evidence-based medicine. I thought it would be great if we could help solve this problem by providing both patients and healthcare professionals a place where they can go for sound advice on health related topics.
What is the demographic makeup of your users?
The largest segment of our audience is women between the ages of 25-35 who work in an office and use their smartphones. They tend to be curious about the latest health information and like reading about it a lot but don't have time to read long articles because they have to spend most of their time on their smartphone. As such, we produce very short content that is about 400 words or less that can be consumed in less than 5 minutes. The second largest segment is people over 35 who are looking for specialized health information on topics like diabetes and cancer treatment from experts (in this case, doctors) whose advice you can trust.
How do you attract patients?
We provide a free and simple "health check-in" questionnaire that helps us determine which audience we want to target and then we provide a unique health topic each week for them to answer. We also provide educational materials that come with the questionnaire in PDF format, such as how to exercise safely, manage stress, and manage pain. We occasionally post articles on health topics like exercise and nutrition but most importantly, our content is delivered right to the inbox of users who sign up through our website or mobile app. We aim to build value in the eyes of our readers by providing useful information that they can use.
How do you attract healthcare professionals?
We are trying to attract healthcare professionals who want to reach people where they spend most of their time—on their phones. We provide them with a space to publish content and also to build credibility by providing evidence-based information. Most importantly, we provide a way for them to be compensated for their efforts through advertising revenue. Our mobile app has been getting downloaded around 15-20 thousand times per day and about 70% of those downloads come from users who are looking for health advice by category, name, or keyword search.
Conclusion
As technology advances, we need to take advantage of the new tools at our disposal for better health. El Rio Health is one simple way you can use smartphone apps to track your health and wellness information. And it's a secure, affordable way to get advice from experts that you know and trust. Whether you're looking for great info on exercise, nutrition, or sleep habits, El Rio Health has what you need. The app delivers short health tips right to your smartphone every day. You can also ask questions of a doctor or dietician directly through the app and get an answer in less than 24 hours.
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