HRC to benefit from Healtheon/WebMD Offer of Secure Internet Connectivity to Healthcare
Providers and Consumers Through Partnership With SonicWALL
businesswire.com
BW0073 DEC 21,1999 5:02 PACIFIC 08:02 EASTERN
( BW)(CA-SONICWALL)(SNWL)
Healtheon/WebMD Offers Secure Internet Connectivity to Healthcare
Providers and Consumers Through Partnership With SonicWALL
Business Editors, High-Tech Writers
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 21, 1999--
Healtheon/WebMD to Deploy SonicWALL Products to
Protect Sensitive Medical Information
ÿÿÿ SonicWALL Inc. (Nasdaq:SNWL), a leading provider of Internet security
for broadband access customers in the small- to medium-size
company, branch office, telecommuter and education markets, today announcedÿ
that it was selected by Healtheon/WebMD Corporation
(Nasdaq:HLTH) to provide Internet security within the company's Extranet system,
which is being deployed to serve the healthcare industry.
ÿÿÿ Healtheon/WebMD connects physicians and other healthcare providersÿ
to the Internet, allowing them to communicate with hospitals, payers,
physician groups and consumers, submit and monitor insurance claims,ÿ
check patient eligibility, and order laboratory and diagnostic tests.
Because of the highly confidential nature of patient information,ÿ
these healthcare providers that their data be secure on their "always-on"
broadband connection to the Internet. To ensure the security of this data,ÿ
Healtheon/WebMD selected the SonicWALL family of Internet Security
Appliances, which offer robust, reliable and affordable firewalling,ÿ
Denial of Service (DoS) attack prevention, web-site access control and
IPSec-based Virtual Private Networking in a single, integrated platform.
ÿÿÿ "Some healthcare professionals have been hesitant to use the Internet to
communicate with patients and other players in the healthcare industry
and perform transactions because they are concerned about security," said Steve Curd,ÿ
chief information officer for Healtheon/WebMD. "Given
the sensitive nature of most healthcare communications, it was vital thatÿ
we establish relationships with organizations that provide world-class
Internet security. With SonicWALL, we have accomplished that objective," Curd added.
ÿÿÿ "Leveraging the power of the Internet to enhance the provisioning of qualityÿ
healthcare requires robust security measures to ensure that patient
records and other sensitive information is not divulged or compromised," saidÿ
Sreekanth Ravi, president and CEO of SonicWALL, Inc. "We
look forward to continuing to work with Healtheon/WebMD to provide robust,
affordable Internet security for healthcare professionals."
ÿÿÿ About Healtheon/WebMD
ÿÿÿ Healtheon/WebMD (Nasdaq:HLTH) is the first end-to-end Internet healthcareÿ
company connecting physicians and consumers to the entire
healthcare industry. Healtheon/WebMD is using the Internet to facilitate a new system
for the delivery of healthcare, resulting in a single, secure
environment for all communications and transactions that will enable a more efficientÿ
and cost effective healthcare system. Based in Atlanta, the
company was formed in November 1999 as a result of the merger of Healtheon Corporation,ÿ
WebMD, Inc., MEDE America and Medcast. For
more information, visit webmd.com.
ÿÿÿ About SonicWALL, Inc.
ÿÿÿ SonicWALL, Inc. designs, develops and manufactures Internet securityÿ
products for broadband access customers in the small to medium size
enterprise (SME), branch office, telecommuter and education markets.ÿ
The SonicWALL Internet security appliance is a high-performance,
solid-state product that provides a robust, reliable, easy-to-use and affordable Internetÿ
security solution. SonicWALL provides firewall security,
content filtering and VPN capabilities in a single, integrated platform. NASDAQ: SNWL.
SonicWALL, Inc. is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA.
For more information, contact SonicWALL at 408/745-9600 or visit the company
web site at sonicwall.com.
ÿÿÿ SonicWALL is a registered trademark of SonicWALL, Inc. All other trademarks
and registered trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
--30--RYG/se*
CONTACT: SonicWALL, Inc.
Larry Woodard, 408/752-7803
larry@sonicwall.com
or
Ogilvy Public Relations
Jennifer Meyer, 212/880-5253
Jennifer.Meyer@ogilvypr.com
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: INTERNET TELECOMMUNICATIONS EDUCATION
===================================================
WebMD, Healtheon and
HealthSouth to Co-Market and
Connect 50,000 Physicians, 2,000
Facilities, Millions of Patients and
Third-Party Payors
WebMD, Healtheon and HealthSouth
to Enter a $50 Million Partnership to
Build and Promote Consumer
Sports-Medicine Channel
healthsouth.com
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 14 -- Today at the
Microsoft Windows on Healthcare V
conference, WebMD, Inc.
(http://www.webmd.com ), a leading
provider of healthcare information on the
Internet, Healtheon (Nasdaq: HLTH), a
pioneer in providing Internet-based,
business-to-business and
consumer-to-business electronic
commerce services that link doctors and
consumers with healthcare institutions,
and HealthSouth Corporation (NYSE:
HRC; www.healthsouth.com ), the nation's
largest provider of outpatient surgery and
rehabilitative and diagnostic healthcare
services, announced an agreement to
create the first comprehensive online and
offline end-to-end healthcare solution.
This strategic partnership marks the first
time both a national healthcare provider
and an Internet healthcare information and
connectivity provider will come together
to fully leverage their collective
complementary assets. As previously
announced, Healtheon Corporation and
WebMD, Inc. have signed a definitive
agreement to merge to form
Healtheon/WebMD.
"This partnership with HealthSouth creates
a completely unique model to build market
share and create new revenue
opportunities," said Jeff Arnold, Chief
Executive Officer for WebMD. "WebMD's
national base of consumers will have
access to local care provided by
HealthSouth physicians and facilities. We
believe that HealthSouth's adoption of
Healtheon's connectivity and electronic
transactions capabilities will result in
tremendous efficiencies that will deliver
significant results."
Launching the $50 million initiative in Q4,
1999, WebMD and HealthSouth plan to
aggressively create awareness of this
end-to-end healthcare solution that
leverages the marriage of HealthSouth's
network with WebMD's online and offline
distribution, sports medicine content and
Healtheon's connectivity services.
HealthSouth and WebMD will create a
comprehensive, trusted source for sports
medicine information for consumers and
physicians. The partnership will include
revenue sharing for all sponsorships,
e-commerce and advertising within the
consumer sports medicine channel.
"With WebMD's national distribution
complemented by HealthSouth's
comprehensive knowledge of sports
medicine, we have the opportunity to
introduce millions of new consumers to
HealthSouth and deliver the most
comprehensive information about
sports-related injuries," said Richard M.
Scrushy, Chairman/Chief Executive
Officer of HealthSouth. "This certainly
creates new opportunities for referral
streams to our facilities and physicians.
Being the only true national healthcare
provider in all 50 states allows us to
leverage WebMD's technology along with
our facility presence to create new revenue
opportunities and to empower consumers
seeking the best healthcare solutions."
"WebMD Sports Medicine brought to
you by HealthSouth"
The National Safety Council estimates
more than 23 million sports-related
injuries are treated in hospital emergency
rooms each year. There are over 20 million
people who look online for health
information, and many of these queries are
related to sports injuries. WebMD and
HealthSouth will create a co-branded
Sports Medicine channel on WebMD.com
for consumers that will include:
Original, comprehensive, trusted
sports medicine information delivered
in daily newscasts
Special interest communities, focused
on topics such as back pain and
arthritis
Ask the Expert information resource
Find a HealthSouth Facility search
resource (locations in every state)
Physician and celebrity online chat
events
"Many people don't get proper treatment
for sports-related injuries," said Bo
Jackson, former NFL and MLB star and
President of the HealthSouth Sports
Medicine Council. "This partnership puts
the necessary information online -
expanding the mission of HealthSouth to
supply people with timely and trusted
information and access to physicians in
state-of-the-art facilities which specialize
in sports medicine."
In addition to the online component, the
strategic partnership is anticipated to
include offline co-marketing programs
such as waiting room television
programming in every HealthSouth office.
WebMD will provide co-branded content
for this programming, providing patients
with information they can explore further
through the Web site. The partnership will
also include youth outreach, including the
2000-plus high school sports teams treated
yearly by HealthSouth and the Sports
Medicine Council "Go for it" road show.
"HealthSouth and WebMD are positioned
to transform the healthcare industry," said
Scrushy. "This partnership will allow us to
deepen our relationships with the more
than 120,000 patients who visit
HealthSouth daily, creating better
informed, motivated and healthier
patients."
A National Network of Connected
Physicians
Streamlining the multiple administrative,
communications and research functions
into a direct Web-based process, the
partnership will conserve time and money
for the thousands of doctors in the
HealthSouth network, while enabling them
to enhance their patient care. To achieve
this goal, WebMD and HealthSouth
together will provide physician-based
services including:
WebMD subscriptions for
HealthSouth's over 50,000 referring
physicians
Creation of an orthopedic and sports
medicine channel for doctors using
WebMD's more than 70 medical
writers
Connectivity among the 2,000
HealthSouth facilities to increase
efficiency and patient information
sharing
Clinical document sharing and
distribution
Secure messaging
As previously announced, Microsoft has
agreed to underwrite physician
subscriptions for WebMD services. "This
partnership exemplifies why Microsoft is
committed to the WebMD end-to-end
platform," said Paul Smolke, Healthcare
Industry Manager at Microsoft. "With
Microsoft's long-standing relationship with
HealthSouth, this partnership is a true fit.
This allows us to strengthen our
commitment to enhancing connectivity and
services for healthcare providers and
content for consumers through MSN."
"As an orthopedic surgeon and a member
of the HealthSouth Sports Medicine
Council who has worked with major
athletic injuries, I know this relationship
will benefit our current and future
patients," said Dr. James Andrews. "The
WebMD news bureau features world class
medical writers reporting timely topical
issues to enable physicians like myself to
stay on the cutting-edge of healthcare
information. The connectivity and secure
messaging capabilities of Healtheon will
foster a collaborative, information-sharing
environment among the 50,000 member
physicians who use HealthSouth facilities."
Mike Long, Chief Executive Officer for
Healtheon added, "The WebMD,
Healtheon and HealthSouth partnership
leverages our shared commitment for
executing a national strategy with regional
and local healthcare delivery. The
administrative efficiencies resulting from
HealthSouth's implementation of our
electronic transaction offerings will be
significant. While the benefits of
physicians' subscriptions, connectivity and
information services will be immediately
available nationwide, implementation of
transaction processing will initially be
rolled out regionally to provide physicians,
consumers and healthcare institutions with
a seamless capability to deliver healthcare
services over the Internet."
Extending the Playing Field
"WebMD and HealthSouth are committed
to having a major online and offline
presence in the sports medicine field. This
$50 million initiative is an unprecedented
opportunity to address one of healthcare's
most dynamic growth areas," says Arnold.
Extending the integrated WebMD and
HealthSouth resources, the partnership will
include online marketing and promotional
efforts conducted through WebMD's portal
co-brands, including CBS SportsLine,
MSN, Excite, and Lycos. Off-line
promotional efforts will involve a mix of
television, radio and print advertising and
events, including local and national sports
teams, the PGA Tour and major sports
arenas. Anticipated revenue sources
include advertising, sponsorships and
e-commerce ventures.
About Healtheon
Healtheon, founded in 1996 and based in
Santa Clara, CA is a pioneer in providing
Internet-based, business-to-business and
consumer-to-business electronic
commerce services that link doctors and
consumers with healthcare institutions,
enabling them to efficiently and
conveniently manage their business and
personal healthcare needs. Healtheon's
services simplify the business and clinical
processes of healthcare, provide more
timely access to information, provide
faster and more convenient service, and
lead to higher quality, more affordable
care. The company recently announced
definitive agreements to acquire MedE
AMERICA Corp. and merge with
WebMD, Inc. Healtheon can be reached
through its Web site at
healtheon.com.
About WebMD
Atlanta-based WebMD, which is privately
held and was founded in 1998, offers a
comprehensive suite of Internet-based
services and information for physicians as
well as healthcare information services and
online communities for consumers.
WebMD can be reached through its Web
site at webmd.com.
About HealthSouth
HealthSouth, the largest healthcare
company geographically in the United
States, is also the nation's largest provider
of outpatient surgery and rehabilitative and
diagnostic healthcare services, with nearly
2,000 locations in all 50 states, the United
Kingdom, Australia and Puerto Rico.
Other than historical information set forth
herein, this announcement contains
forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties, including those
relating to the ability of Healtheon's
services to decrease costs and improve
patient care. Actual results could be
materially different from those discussed
in this announcement. Factors that could
cause actual results to differ include,
among others: Healtheon's limited
operating history, continued growth in the
use of the Internet, and acceptance of the
Internet as a secure medium over which to
conduct transactions. Additional risks
associated with Healtheon's business can
be found in its recent Registration
Statement on Form S-4 and other periodic
filings with the SEC.
Statements concerning HealthSouth
contained in this press release, which are
not historical facts are forward-looking
statements. In addition, HealthSouth,
through its senior management, may from
time to time make forward-looking public
statements concerning the matters
described herein. Such forward-looking
statements are necessarily estimates
reflecting the best judgment of
HealthSouth's senior management based
on current information, involve a number
of risks and uncertainties and are made
pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. HealthSouth's actual results
may differ materially from the results
anticipated in these forward-looking
statements as a result of a variety of
factors, including those identified in this
press release and in the public filings made
by HealthSouth with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including
HealthSouth's Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31,
1998 and its Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q, and forward-looking statements of
HealthSouth or its senior management
should be considered in light of those
factors. There can be no assurance that
such factors or other factors will not affect
the accuracy of such forward-looking
statements.
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