WebiScope.com is an online forum and companion blog for healthcare Web Professionals— those who work on healthcare Web sites. And, each year WebiScope.com conducts the Healthcare Web Management Survey and hosts a networking dinner.

WebiScope.com is designed to facilitate dialogue among colleagues— web developers, administrators, managers— facing the same issues. Share best practices, technical knowledge, management policies and more to help others efficiently manage, evaluate and grow their healthcare sites.

WebiScope.com started as the Healthcare Web Developers’ Listserv (HCwebD), but in late 2006, members were ready for a blog and online forum. So the list’s founder, Delia Konizeski, partnered with Aaron Holbrook to create the design and functionality of her brainchild, WebiScope.com. The site launched on April 11, 2007– just 13 months from when the listserv began.

WebiScope.com is the result of collaboration and is the next generation of the Healthcare Web Developers’ Listserv.

Aaron Holbrook

Aaron studied computer science at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL and earned a BA degree in Computer Science with a minor of Economics in May, 2006.

Shortly after college he became the webmaster for Centegra Health System, and attended the Internet Healthcare Conference where he met Delia.

Aaron prides himself on building quality, standards based, beautiful websites. He is an advocate for building a semantic web and has given lectures on the benefits of using standards based design, the benefits of utilizing XML, and the importance of separating design from content.

Aaron developed both the design and back-end configuration of WebiScope using WordPress and BBPress.

History

WebiScope.com began as the Healthcare Web Developers’ listserv (HCwebD) which was launched by Delia Konizeski in March 2006. The listserv was modeled after the University Web Developers (UwebD) mailing list that proved helpful to Delia during the three years she managed a Baltimore college’s web site.

When Delia joined the The Greater Baltimore Medical Center’s web team in late 2005, she quickly saw need for dialogue among healthcare web professionals. Guided by Terry Calhoun of the Society for College and University Planning and manager of the UwebD list, Delia launched HCwebD. She recruited new members regularly and reached out to healthcare webmasters at hospitals, foundations and academic healthcare entities. The list topped 300 members from more than 210 healthcare entities and 11 state hospital associations within a year’s time.

Members expressed interest in expanding the list beyond the e-mail listserv format during the list’s networking dinner at the 2006 Healthcare Internet Conference. At the conference, Aaron Holbrook expressed interest in bringing the listserv into the next generation with modern blogging and forum tools and WebiScope.com was created.

Delia Konizeski left the healthcare field in 2007 and is no longer affiliated with WebiScope.com. She has since found more time to spend with her husband and small child and more energy to restore her 1940’s Maryland home.