Intershop Powers Coram Healthcare's Online Pharmacy
Coram Healthcare Uses Intershop Software and Professional Services to Extend
Leadership in $160 Billion Market
SAN JOSE, Calif., ebusiness conference and expo, booth #1220, June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Intershop, the world's leading provider of sell-side electronic commerce software today announced it will provide the technology for Coram Healthcare's online pharmacy. Coram Healthcare will take Coram Prescription Services, its nearly $80 million mail order and pharmacy benefit management division, online in the third quarter of 1999.
With the assistance of Intershop Professional Services, Coram Healthcare (www.coramhc.com) aims at becoming the Internet's leading provider of self-care information and services, as well as online orders of prescription medications and over the counter products for chronically ill patients.
Taking advantage of Intershop's open architecture, Coram Healthcare's application will result in a fully automated supply chain management featuring the integration of the inventory and the patient management system that interacts with health plans to verify a patient's eligibility for a prescribed medication. Intershop's e-commerce software will also integrate with Coram Healthcare's state of the art distribution facility in Orlando, Florida and multiple product databases for constant updates of the product catalog. The system offers patients online access to the most current information about availability and order status.
According to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the market for prescription drugs in 1998 was $100 billion; the over-the-counter and vitamin markets increase the total to $160 billion. The combined market is expected to grow to $300 billion by 2003.
"We are proud to be chosen as the e-commerce technology and service provider for Coram Healthcare," said Stephan Schambach, president and CEO of Intershop Communications. "Coram Healthcare's leadership and experience in the distribution of medical products and services to chronic patients in North America is a formidable platform to showcase our technology in a high-profile healthcare application."
Through the Intershop solution, Coram Healthcare will provide patients suffering from targeted medical conditions such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, infertility, and solid-organ transplants with access to comprehensive health and self-care information and the capability to order and refill prescription drugs and over the counter products. With 20,000 existing mail order customers and immediate access to over 8 million persons through current agreements with managed care organizations, Coram Healthcare plans to grow online sales aggressively.
"Our cooperation with Intershop and the launch of a commerce-enabled Web site, will allow us to enhance the high level of service our current patients are accustomed to while enabling penetration into new markets," said Richard Smith, president and CEO of Coram Healthcare. "To succeed with our Internet strategy, we selected Intershop because the company offers solutions that are scalable, have a low cost of maintenance and can be deployed in very short time. Intershop's in-house expertise of implementing the solution in the context of Coram Healthcare's business model was another key reason for our decision." |
