SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 19, 1999-- The Internet will dramatically change healthcare by enhancing communications, streamlining processes, and creating new business opportunities, says a new research report from Hambrecht & Quist. ''The 'health.net' companies that stand at the confluence of healthcare and the Internet will reap the rewards of progress,'' according to H&Q analysts Stephen M. Fitzgibbons and Richard Lee.
The report, ''The health.net Industry,'' analyzes the emerging pure-play health.net companies in three segments: content, community and services; connectivity and communications; and e-commerce. The overwhelming majority of these companies are privately-held, at present.
The report details the revenue opportunities for these companies in e-commerce, connectivity and advertising/sponsorship. Of these, e-commerce, estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars, represents the largest and most immediate opportunity. ''The e-commerce companies are pursuing substantial opportunities in both the consumer and business markets,'' say the H&Q analysts.
The connectivity market, estimated to be $10+ billion, will be penetrated more gradually. ''The connectivity players, consisting of healthcare information technology and emerging health.net companies, provide solutions to connect the various healthcare participants, including providers, patients, payers and suppliers,'' say the analysts. ''These companies will incrementally deploy Web technology in an effort to rapidly aggregate users on the front- and back-end of transactions. While we believe the opportunity is huge, and the work critical, the progress will come gradually as a number of hurdles need to be cleared.''
Advertising/sponsorship, the third market opportunity identified by analysts Fitzgibbons and Lee, is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, ''with huge potential upside.''
In assessing the overall impact of the Internet on healthcare, the authors note that an estimated $250 billion in healthcare spending is wasted on unnecessary or avoidable care, redundant tests, and excessive administrative costs.
''This statistic,'' they add, ''tells only half the story. The intangible costs of poor information flow far outweigh the quantifiable deficiencies. Unlike other industries, in healthcare, good information can mean the difference between life and death.''
The publicly-traded companies mentioned in this report include Cerner (Nasdaq: CERN - news); Eclipsys (Nasdaq: ECLP - news); HBO & Co., now part of McKesson (NYSE: MCK - news); IDX Systems (Nasdaq: IDXC - news); mediconsult.com (Nasdaq: MCNS - news); OnHealth Network Co. (Nasdaq: ONHN - news); Advanced Health (Nasdaq: ADVH - news) and Shared Medical Systems (NYSE: SMS - news). The report is available on Hambrecht & Quist's Web site at www.hamquist.com.
Hambrecht & Quist is a leading underwriter of public equity, and a leader in merger and acquisition advisory and private equity services for growth companies in the technology, healthcare, services and branded consumer sectors. H&Q has completed more than 380 equity offerings globally since 1995, raising more than $27 billion for emerging growth companies. H&Q's principal offices are in San Francisco, New York and Boston with additional offices in Europe, Asia and southern California, and a strategic partnership in Israel. Its stock is traded on the NYSE, symbol HQ.
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