WebMD is the largest Web site devoted in providing health information services to consumers, physicians, healthcare professionals, employers and health plans. WebMD helps consumers manage their health by providing the latest healthcare information via the Internet. Physicians and healthcare professionals can aquire the latest clinical information, learn of new treatment options, and communicate with other professionals through the internet. Employers and health plans can provide personalized health and benefit information to their employees and members. Three components that make WebMD are the claims transmission, practice management software, and it's health care portal for doctors and consumers.
MIS Theory:
WebMD Envoy is the largest provider of healthcare electronic data interchange (EDI) products and services to the healthcare sector. Envoy is the clearinghouse that processes transactions from doctors and hospitals, and sends them to payers. Envoy processes almost 2 billion transactions a year for it's healthcare customers. Most recent WebMD has obtained complaints about lost and incomplete filings that threaten their financial viability. WebMD has changed the name from Enovy to Emdeon which still operates in improving patient collections, insuring rapid, accurate payment processing, and effectiveness of the clinical encounter. This of course is an area in which is becoming a commodity service with limited growth prospects.
Second is WebMD Practice Services, which has Medical Manager software. The Medical Manager software is the leading system for physician office and physician network automation. The Medical Manager is integrated with a wide range of advanced solutions designed to help physicians and healthcare centers move toward a paperless environment. Systems included are Electronic Medical Records (EMR), HIPPA-ready EDI, document and image management, and wireless and internet connectivity.
Third is WebMD's original portal business called WebMD Health. WebMD Health serves consumers and physicians, allowing consumers to obtain quality healthcare information and allowing physicians to continue medical education. WebMD Health partners with large employers to create internal portals for employees , so they can manage their well-being through a product called Personal Health Manager.
Findings:
WebMD acuires Medifax-EDI which is a leading provider of medical eligibility transaction services which enable providers to verify insurance coverage for their patients on a real-time basis. Combined with WebMD Envoy now Emdeon will become a leading supplier of both medical claims and real-time transaction solutions for both commerical and government payers.
Also WebMD is introducting a new product called Intergy which is similar to Medical Manager but is a more sophisticated product that uses graphics rather than text commands. Intergy is aimed at larger physician group practices and hospitals.
WebMD aquired Medscape Portals to create the largest network of online medical professionals and consumers. It is the most effective way to find a physician in every specialty as well as healthcare involved consumers with specific diseases or conditions.
Conclusions:
WebMD is using the Internet to facilitate a new system for the delivery of healthcare, being a single secure environment for all communications and transactions that will give a more efficient and cost effective healthcare system. Since the start of WebMD in the late 1990's it has kept up to speed in this rapid change of technolgoy by acquiring key companies that by combining them will in fact give WebMD a more effective and competiveness edge.