Wednesday, December 6, 2000

Physicians Need Valuable Online Applications

Despite recent speculations of "techno-phobia" in the medical community, physicians are Internet savvy and awaiting the necessary tools to take the practice of medicine online at the point of care. With more than 50 percent of physicians using the Internet daily, but only 20 percent feeling it is essential to their professional practice, the Internet industry is still challenged with creating online tools that meet physician needs, according to a landmark national study released today at the eHealthcareWorld conference in New York City. The study was conducted by Cyber Dialogue, the leading Analytical eCRM provider, and Deloitte Research, the research arm of Deloitte Consulting and Deloitte & Touche.

"Taking the Pulse: Physicians and the Internet," the largest and most rigorous study of its kind, examines how the Internet has influenced interaction between doctors and patients through the analysis of in-depth interviews with more than 1,200 practicing physicians in the U.S. In particular, the study details how physicians are using the Internet, its impact in the clinical and professional setting and the future prognosis for physicians, patients, payors and pharmaceutical and e-Health companies.

"Although healthcare is said to be one of the last pre-digital industries, this study shows that the barriers to the electronic age are not user fear or ignorance. Physicians embrace the Internet when it improves their ability to do their work, to improve their productivity. The challenge is for the Internet industry to demonstrate value to the front-line care provider," said Manuel Lowenhaupt MD, Principal, Deloitte Consulting Health Care Practice.

Among the study's most important findings are that 90 percent of physicians have accessed the Web in the past year and 55 percent are daily users. In addition, about 24 percent of physicians are "professional users," who are defined as spending at least three-quarters of their online time for professional purposes. However, most physicians are still not actively using the Internet for clinical or administrative purposes, nor are they using online medical records or communicating with patients online.

"There has yet to be a compelling value proposition that would lead physicians to integrate the Internet into their clinical workflow," said Mark Bard, a director in Cyber Dialogue's Health Practice. "The majority of physicians, though, are very excited about the future of the Web to improve communication among patients, payors and providers, and most of them anticipate that they will rely on the Web much more in five years."

Ruth Given, Deloitte Research, Director for Health Care concurs, "Our research supports the view that physicians' reticence to adopt online services is not due to the medical community being techno-phobic but rather is due to key economic deterrents. These include the immediate out-of-pocket costs for Internet connectivity, the related physician time costs of learning and using new systems, as well as the financial risk of possibly investing in a wrong/outdated technology. These concerns are even more pressing in this era of managed care; the opportunity lies in identifying ways to overcome these financial limitations."

For activities related to "connectivity" and administrative services, 21 percent of the physicians e-mail their patients and 4 percent use online prescribing. This signals a significant opportunity for companies focused on automating existing processes and injecting efficiency into labor-intensive activities. Still, the study found that concerns related to privacy and security are keeping many physicians from fully embracing the Internet.

"Despite the belief that physicians are techno-phobes, their personal use of the Internet has already reached critical mass," commented Thaddeus Grimes-Gruczka, vice president of Cyber Dialogue's Health Practice. "Vital factors essential for making the jump from personal usage to clinical use include integrating technology into workflow at the point of care, addressing privacy and security concerns, and demonstrating how online technologies will help physicians practice medicine more efficiently and effectively."

Swiss Lead Europe's Online Banking Wars
Forrester Research, B.V. today declared Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS the leaders in Europe's online retail banking, with the French Banque Directe and BNP Paribas respectively running a close third and fourth.

"The Swiss banks shine through with comprehensive, integrated offerings," commented Brian Gross, analyst at Forrester's European headquarters in Amsterdam. "Consistently integrating a gamut of products and services with useful tools like portfolio analyzers, these sites come closest to what it will take to win the battle for customers in Europe's online banking war."

Forrester rated the main retail Web sites of Europe's 25 largest retail banks plus their spin-offs, and six smaller Web leaders -- ranking a total of 40 individual Web-based operations. Within the top 10, four of Europe's top-performing banking sites behind the Swiss and French are German -- Advance Bank, Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank each tie for sixth place, with Direkt Anlage Bank sharing tenth spot with Italy's Banca 121. Barclays is the UK's only entrant in the top 10, again sharing sixth place, but trailing Finland's Merita Bank, part of the Nordea Group.

"Competition in online banking has become cutthroat," noted Gross. "Most banks are proud that they have brought payments and statements to the Internet, but this is no time for them to sit back and bask in their achievements. Net banking is now reaching mainstream customers, who are starting to trade online and congregate at financial portals. Spin-off banks from insurers, brokers, financial media, and, of course, foreign banks are biting at the established banks' heels to steal these customers.

"This is nothing less than a war for survival. Even though Europe's top 25 banks are each pouring hundreds of millions of euros into eCommerce, not all of them will convert their offline strength into online strength."

Forrester asserts that many of Europe's incumbent banks will not succeed in competing with financial portals, brokerages, and insurers to become what it calls "attracters" -- destination sites that orchestrate the overall financial needs of their customers. Forrester advises that in order to retain consumers, banks must offer integrated, easy-to-use sites that are rich in content and have powerful financial planning tools -- and begin to offer what it terms "Personal Finance Management."

"The coming years will see the leading banks move towards Personal Finance Management -- sites that are personalized, synchronized across multiple channels, and that offer holistic financial planning as well as a rich product offering. This will include such features as account aggregation, online advice, and a product selection from an array of suppliers," Gross concluded.

News Tidbits (appears every day on front page)
- The death of Internet companies continues. This week BabyGear.com closed its doors, posting to its Website the following message: "We regret to inform you that the Babygear.com web site has closed and is no longer available. Babygear.com has filed for bankruptcy - Chapter 7 Liquidation. They are unable to take orders, ship orders or issue credits. Any further matters will be handled by the court."

- Many cell phones already have connections to the Web, but now Samsung is working on streaming video to cell phones. According to Business Week, "Imagine the possibilities of a device that, not so long ago, existed only in the imaginations of science-fiction writers. If you attach a camera to the video-phone, you can point it at the Statue of Liberty and beam pictures to relatives anywhere in the world."