Two very interesting PR's out this morning:
NEW YORK, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Medical Association today announced it is joining with six other national physician associations to launch a high quality health information and communication site on the Internet. The associations have formed a new company, Medem¸ -- standing for ``medical empowerment' -- which will make its Web site, medem.com, available in early 2000.
``Medem.com is the Web site patients all across America have been waiting for,' said AMA Trustee William H. Mahood, MD.
The partners in medem.com comprise the American Medical Association, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Psychiatric Association and American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. These societies will own and control the new entity established to create the Web site.
``The patient-doctor relationship is the heart and soul of quality health care. At its very core is trust -- the trust patients have in the training, experience and ability of their doctor. With the development of this unique, new Web site, the same kind of credible health information you expect from your own physician is just a 'click' away,' Dr. Mahood said.
The new entity will consist of an independent editorial operation and a separate business unit. The editorial operation will be responsible for the content of medem.com, ensuring that patients have access to the most credible, trustworthy and high quality health information on the Internet. In addition, patients and physicians will be able to communicate with each other confidentially through the Web site.
Advertising on the Web site will adhere to strict guidelines. The business unit will handle the design, development and management of the Web site and will ensure that revenue generated by the venture is directed back into supporting and improving the site. The business plan also provides for a health care charitable foundation to support philanthropic direct patient care programs. Any revenue earned by the AMA will support the association's role as advocate for the medical profession and the patients it serves.
``Today, millions of Americans are turning to the Internet to find answers to their health and medical questions. The problem is, there are thousands of Web sites claiming to provide health information. It's difficult to know what you can believe or what you can trust. Of course, there is no substitute for meeting with your physician in-person when it comes to providing high quality health care. But between visits to the doctor's office, this new site will allow patients and their doctors to strengthen their relationship by assuring that patients get the best, most up-to-date and most credible information from their own doctors,' Dr. Mahood said.
``What makes this site unique is that it is founded by well-established, professional organizations with proven experience. The AMA has been providing reliable patient information for more than 150 years. And, of course, we wrote the book on medical ethics. The bottom line is, no one can surpass this collection of associations when it comes to quality and integrity. We are proud to be working with our partners in this exciting new venture,' Dr. Mahood concluded.
SOURCE: American Medical Association
Source Link: biz.yahoo.com
NEW YORK, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Seven prestigious physician associations have joined to create Medem, a patient-focused Internet healthcare information and communication source. The company's site, medem.com, is designed to provide patients with the most credible, trustworthy and high-quality health information on the Internet and to help patients and physicians work together to improve the quality of patient care.
The seven participating physician groups represent more than two-thirds of the nation's physicians. They include: American Academy of Ophthalmology; American Academy of Pediatrics; American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; American Medical Association; American Psychiatric Association; and American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Medem has been incorporated by the founding societies, but many additional physician associations are now in discussions to join the effort. Alliance and partnership negotiations also are anticipated with media and technology firms.
``The health of Americans always has been the purpose of our country's medical associations,' said H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD, Chairman of the Medem Board of Directors and executive vice president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. ``medem.com will give our patients access to information they can trust and information they can use with their physicians in order to improve their health care.'
``Patients trust their own doctors to provide them with health information. Now, with the development of this unique Web site, that same credible health information is just a 'click' away,' said William H. Mahood, MD, trustee of the American Medical Association. ``This is the Web site our patients have been waiting for.'
Through medem.com, consumers will be able not only to access high-quality medical information, but they will be able to communicate with their physicians, confident that their privacy will be protected. Physicians will be able to customize their own Web sites, both for their own use and to provide their patients with personalized information about their health care. Thousands of physicians have already registered for the customized Web services that began rolling out this month. The robust direct-to-consumer Web site, medem.com, will be available in early 2000.
Edward J. Fotsch, MD, CEO of Medem, stated, ``The participating physician groups have been working for more than a year to develop an Internet service that will offer real value to patients and physicians. medem.com will strengthen the patient-physician relationship by allowing doctors to communicate securely with patients online and to refer their patients to accurate, credible health care information from the finest source on the Internet -- their own Web site.'
``The interest in medem.com has been overwhelming, with thousands of physicians having signed up for the service,' according to AAP executive director Joe M. Sanders Jr., MD, FAAP. ``Pediatricians work with families everyday to answer questions on everything from newborn care to young adult issues. Now, pediatricians can enhance this exchange of information through Medem's Web site.'
SOURCE: Medem
Source Link: biz.yahoo.com
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