Seeking a Cure, Patients Find a Dose of Conversation Online

Ann Bartlett, who blogs on HealthCentral.com about her Type 1 diabetes, was frustrated when doctors tied all her symptoms to diabetes. (By Dominic Bracco Ii -- The Washington Post)
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Each of the HealthCentral sites features information such as symptoms and treatments. The heart of the sites is a system connecting visitors with doctors and patient bloggers -- people with a particular disease who answer questions about living with it.

The strategy is different from that of other big health sites.

The leading health Web site is WebMD, an encyclopedia of health information visited by 18 million people each month. Other big players include Everyday Health and Revolution Health, run in the District by AOL co-founder Steve Case.

Fostering discussion is left largely to patient bloggers such as Alexandria wellness instructor Ann Bartlett, a Type 1 diabetic who became frustrated with doctors blaming each health issue she had on diabetes.

"A lot of what I get from readers are people who are similar to where I have been, stuck in a rut," she said. "Their doctor says they can do this and not do that. How can you get outside of the diabetic box?"

Web producers in Arlington constantly review what generates traffic to HealthCentral sites and what gets the most queries on search engines. They give that information to doctors and patient bloggers, who write about the subjects in hope of gaining traffic.

After an episode of an HBO series featured mental illness, for instance, "Sopranos and depression" drove traffic. The fatal heart attack of "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert prompted two articles by a heart doctor on what in the newsman's health record might have sounded alarms.

Schroeder's views on online media took shape at The Washington Post Co., where he oversaw the Web sites of the newspaper and Newsweek.

After leaving the company in 2005, Schroeder partnered with former Post Co. president Alan Spoon of Polaris Venture Partners, and three other big firms -- Sequoia Capital, the Carlyle Group and Allen & Co. -- to buy a small health Web site to serve as the backbone for HealthCentral.

Earlier this year, IAC, the massive New York media company, bought a minority stake in the firm. A person familiar with the matter, speaking anonymously because the investors do not wish to disclose the size of their investment, said HealthCentral has raised about $75 million total.

HealthCentral has far to go before it is an industry leader. ComScore Media Metrix, a tracker of online traffic, said HealthCentral sites get 3.2 million visitors per month, fewer than WebMD, Everyday Health, Revolution Health, Weight Watchers and about a dozen other health-themed sites. HealthCentral says it gets about 4 million visitors.

And competitors are not ceding ground. They are introducing blogs, forums and social networks. Revolution Health Executive Vice President Ron Klain said many people still want a "one-stop shop," adding: "Health is a very sensitive area and people want to know who they're getting information and advice from and the idea of a trusted brand is an important idea."