HBOC Announces Distribution Agreement with WebMD to Provide Internet-based Tools that Break the Healthcare Information Barrier.

ATLANTA--(BW HealthWire)--Oct. 27, 1998--

HBOC and WebMD Offer Physicians Incentives to Leverage the Power

of the Internet and Connect Practices to Hospitals and Patients

At Intel(R) Corporation's Internet Health Day, HBOC (Nasdaq:HBOC) today announced that it has signed a strategic distribution agreement with Atlanta-based WebMD, Inc., the Internet's leading healthcare network offering a comprehensive suite of content and applications for physicians and consumers.

Under terms of the agreement, HBOC will distribute the WebMD product to healthcare organizations, integrated delivery systems and physician practices throughout the United States as part of a networked software solution.

WebMD offers physicians a single source for answering their information needs, including an answering service, insurance verification service, practice management tools, a comprehensive online library, continuing medical education courses and a virtual doctors' lounge with personalized news. The network also gives physicians their own state-of-the-art customized Web sites. For consumers, WebMD offers an Internet-based Health and Wellness Center featuring breaking health news, a directory of WebMD physicians, answers to frequently asked medical questions, information on disease management topics and health information resources.

HBOC and WebMD are offering a strong promotional incentive to motivate physicians and healthcare organizations to connect to the WebMD product. Organizations that purchase a minimum of 250 WebMD subscriptions before the end of the year will receive an equal number of licenses for HBOC's Connect 2000(tm) thin-client computing software at no additional charge.

The relationship between the two companies leverages HBOC's experience in healthcare information technology (HIT) and WebMD's state-of-the-art Internet-based healthcare content and applications, said Jay P. Gilbertson, HBOC president, co-chief operating officer and chief financial officer. In August, HBOC announced a commitment to make a 5 percent equity investment WebMD and to provide patient test results and medical advice as part of the WebMD suite.

"The alliance between HBOC and WebMD will allow HBOC to offer a broad range of Internet-based healthcare services to its customers," said Gilbertson, who serves on WebMD's Board of Directors. "Through WebMD, we can offer healthcare delivery networks a turn-key, Internet-based solution to empower physicians, provide them a wide range of information and link them with hospitals, managed-care operations, homecare companies, employers and patients."

Jeffrey T. Arnold, WebMD chairman and chief executive officer, added, "WebMD will allow HBOC to provide hospital networks, physicians and their patients the Internet-based information tools they need to cut costs, improve medical practices and close the information gap between physicians and patients. Now WebMD will have the opportunity to bring these capabilities to HBOC's vast customer base."

HBOC customer Memorial Health System in Savannah, Ga., a 300-bed facility recently recognized by US News & World Report as one of the Top 40 Orthopedic Hospitals in the United States, is helping create a partnership between its physicians and their patients by recently purchasing WebMD licenses. "When we saw that we could enhance the productivity of our physicians by providing them with one desktop that offered every conceivable service they could need, plus single access to our HBOC applications and a connection to patients via the Internet, we knew we had found what we'd been searching for in WebMD," said Scott Regan, Memorial Health System vice president of marketing.

Internet Health Day was developed by Intel to provide a forum for news and discussions surrounding the fast-emerging Internet health industry and market. The ability of the Internet to deliver health-related information, products and services is enabling new benefits for consumers and new opportunities for the healthcare industry and Internet entrepreneurs. Internet Health Day is co-sponsored by the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"The provision of quality Internet health information requires that doctors get online and lead the way for their patients," said Steven McGeady, vice president of Intel's Content Group and director of the Internet health Initiative. "WebMD and HBOC together can provide a system solution that we think will bring physicians and other healthcare professionals onto the Internet much more quickly."

The mission of WebMD is to become the leading Internet-based healthcare network, offering products and services that bridge the continuum of care, meeting the needs of doctors and hospitals as well as consumers. WebMD physician subscriptions are through the Web site at www.webmd.com. At the same address, consumers can access the information and services they need to take control of their health and lifestyles through the Health and Wellness Center.

HBOC delivers enterprisewide patient care, clinical, financial and strategic management software solutions, as well as networking technologies, electronic commerce, outsourcing and other services to healthcare organizations throughout the world. For product information, call HBOC at 1-800-981-8601 or visit our Web site at www.hboc.com.