Frequently Asked Questions

Hello, my name is Chris May. I would like to welcome you to hc2d, bringing together the best of the UK and global healthcare news. There is a lot to the service we offer and new content and features are being added all the time. We have therefore compiled this FAQ to explain in a little more detail what we do and to help you get the most from the service.

What is hc2d?

hc2d aims to provide a single repository of healthcare news and comment from a wide range of news sources. The content is backed up by an innovative personalised toolkit to make it easier for you to keep on top of the news agenda and to find, digest and manage news information.

Why has hc2d been developed?

Currently, healthcare news tends to be packaged by disciplinary groups. There are journals for doctors, nurses, healthcare managers, therapists of every type; in fact every single discipline and specialist area seems to have its own publication. This isn't a bad thing; many of these publications provide an excellent service and we rely on them for our source material. But, in addition to the day to day news coverage of general health issues, it means that healthcare news is spread over a wide range of different publications and websites. Until now, there has not been one publication - or website - where all this material is gathered together in one place to provide an overview of the whole spectrum of healthcare news.

So is your news content in summary or in depth?

Both. The news content on hc2d falls into three categories:

• Summaries of news stories (usually between just 100 and 500 words) providing distilled information on events. Each news article contains a direct hyperlink to its original source (or sources) if you want to go into more depth.
• Opinion where we pull together views on a single topic or news story from a range of commentators and editorials.
• Features where we provide a special focus on a subject in the news including background briefings on, for example, new policy initiatives, company profiles and significant healthcare trends. pth.

What other content do you provide?

In addition to our coverage of healthcare news, we have pulled together the best live healthcare news feeds from around the world onto one page. Our publications and books sections keep on top of the latest reports and publications, usually with direct links to the source material, downloads on hc2d or Amazon. Our content is expanding all the time so expect this list to grow.

What topics does hc2d cover?

We cover anything to do with healthcare. This includes information on new clinical service developments, health management, research & clinical trials, disease outbreaks, company news, e-health innovations, media coverage - in fact anything to do with the commissioning and provision of healthcare and the people that provide both front-line and support services in hospitals, public health departments, community and primary care facilities and the private sector.

What geographical area do you cover?

The coverage is primarily focused on the UK and, in particular, on the National Health Service, but important world healthcare events are also covered as is significant corporate news from the pharmaceutical and healthcare support industries which tends to be more global in nature. Our sister sites www.hc2d.com and www.hc2d.net focus on US and World healthcare news respectively.

What are your sources?

We regularly monitor material from about 100 magazines, websites and journals with the occasional article generated from a new or unexpected source. Our full list of sources can be found on our sources page which is frequently updated.

Do you provide any original journalism?

Our primary aim is to collate, digest, distill and summarise healthcare news from other sources.

How often is the site updated?

The site is updated daily. Please click here to see the latest news.

What are the personalised tools you provide?

When you register you will be able to log in and use the personalised tools. These include personalised news pages and e-news options, 'saved searches' and a'scrap book'.
Click here to see up to date details.

What is the best way to use hc2d?

There are a number of ways to ensure you get what you want from our news service.

Make sure that you are signed up to our email news summary to keep on top of the key stories from that week. Click here to register.
Use your account to set email alerts for any keywords that particularly interest you.
If you want to catch up on all stories for a particular subject (eg cancer), then use the Catch-up bulletin tool to generate a PDF of all articles between any two dates.