Doctors are using the Internet to cure the health industry`s ills

MedMall.co.za is a business-to-business (B2B) digital marketplace for healthcare professionals. The Web site is creating a virtual community providing business value in the way of specialist skills and services as and when the community requires.

MedMall was formed by a group of medical specialists as a means of communicating and trading more efficiently, openly, and as a method of curbing escalating expenditure in the healthcare industry. A joint venture between Affinity Logic and Internet Health Solutions, MedMall is a platform for healthcare providers and suppliers to establish communication channels, online procurement practices, and share valuable information. Using Internet and browser technology, healthcare providers and suppliers form part of the community enabling pharmaceutical, office and leisure transactions to be completed online.

Built on a MicrosoftWindows 2000 platform, Affinity Logic was able to deploy a secure, reliable, highly scalable infrastructure necessary for enabling B2B e-commerce solutions, incorporating the full range of back-end business processes for Web-based commerce.

Included in the product set is Microsoft`s BizTalk Server 2000, a XML-based B2B commerce solution providing business process integration and orchestration with trading partners across the Internet through the exchange of XML-formatted business documents.

"Apart from the lucrative claims switching industry, the real benefits of e-commerce for healthcare organisations lie in simple supply-chain management," says George Dempster, a director at MedMall. "By linking merchants, suppliers, warehouses and carriers in real-time, instantaneous order processing and fulfilment, shipping confirmation and billing becomes a reality. The site offers a range of communication tools such as bulletin boards, event calendars and research questionnaires."

"Electronic commerce, intranet applications, e-mail and a host of other Internet-driven technologies are already transforming the industry," says Bev Scott, partner programme manager at Microsoft South Africa. "Healthcare providers and funders have already experienced the benefits of the cost-efficiencies, improved administration and patient care that these communication tools provide."

One of the major challenges Internet businesses face is getting the players that form the community connected. MedMall has already overcome this hurdle by soliciting the support of SA`s medical professionals, their management companies and key industry suppliers. Companies representing the doctors will receive equity in MedMall based on the size of their community, number of valid visits and transactions completed during the first three years of operation.

Launched on 1 February 2001, 3 300 medical specialist are already registered users and are experiencing the benefits of MedMall. Future plans include introducing new categories such as laboratory, radiology, pharmaceutical and medical aid groups, ultimately providing everything one would need to run a professional and efficient practice. "The new economy will bring with it an entirely new kind of healthcare enterprise, the connected healthcare organisation," concludes Scott. "Internet technologies will enable players in the healthcare system, from drug manufacturers to funders to hospitals, to seamlessly exchange records, product orders, invoices, and images as never before."