Future of e-Health is Vibrant and Inescapable.

Health/Medical Writers

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2003

The future of e-health is vibrant and inescapable and a recent study by Health Industries Research Companies (HIRC) identifies a myriad of opportunities for the pharmaceutical industry to enhance its role in the health care arena by leveraging established and emerging electronic technologies such as e-Prescribing and physician-patient connectivity. In its eHealthRx winter report, HIRC uses insights gained through interviews with executives in leading e-health organizations and extensive secondary research to identify and assess a diverse range of opportunities for the pharmaceutical industry to play a broader role in the prescribing channel and strengthen its relationships with physicians, consumers and managed care organizations.

An assessment of the dynamic e-Prescribing market and the emerging capabilities offered by physician-patient connectivity companies is part of HIRC's eHealthRx Research report. The report focuses on implications for the pharmaceutical industry and includes an evaluation of:

-- e-Prescribing trends and physician adoption rates

-- Impact of recent acquisitions of e-Prescribing companies by PBMs and managed care organizations

-- Key events that are likely to significantly accelerate the development and utilization of e-prescribing technologies (e.g., Medicare drug benefit, communication standards)

-- Opportunities to utilize physician-patient connectivity technologies to enhance patient compliance and market development

-- Pharmaceutical companies' patient-focused e-marketing initiatives and critical success criteria

As Ms. Lauren Bolen, HIRC's Director of e-health Research reports, the e-health industry is demonstrating its value to consumers, payers and providers by delivering solutions to address the ongoing escalation of health care costs and the increasingly complex prescribing environment. Furthermore, Ms. Bolen notes that: "In light of the dynamic nature of the e-health environment and its potential impact on all aspects of health care, it is imperative that pharmaceutical companies:

-- Fully integrate their e-health initiatives into ongoing

business operations;

-- Identify the unique benefits offered by the diverse e-health

tools and match them to the marketing priorities of specific

products; and

-- Understand the needs of their customers and the role that

e-health initiatives can play in addressing those needs."

HIRC's winter eHealthRx report also provides key insights into pharmaceutical companies' organizational commitment to e-health initiatives by reporting results of a survey of thirty leading pharmaceutical companies concerning their e-health headcount and reporting relationships. As Ms. Bolen notes, "Total e-health headcount continues to increase as a few large pharmaceutical companies dedicate significant headcount to this area."

HIRC was founded by a researcher from Wharton and Stanford Research Institute in 1990, to examine trends and implications of managed care and national accounts. HIRC currently has five syndicated research services. Please contact Ms. Lauren Bolen, Director of e-Health Research, with any questions at 215-542-0223 or at [e-mail].