NEWS:
Traffic At Existing Medcare Program Sites up 49% Since January; Medcareonline.com to Expand Branding Efforts
OAK BROOK, Illin., Jun 9, 1999 (BUSINESS WIRE via COMTEX) -- MedCareTech(NASDAQ: MCAR) MedCare Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ Small Cap: MCAR) announced that the average patient traffic at its existing network of MedCare Program offices has increased by 49% between the period January 1999 to May 1999. The MedCare Program is a non-drug, non-surgical system for the care and treatment of patients suffering from urinary incontinence. Affecting some 25 million Americans, incontinence is a $26 billion market and is now more prevalent than even diabetes. Unlike traditional treatment options, which are costly and often unsuccessful or inadequate, MedCare's treatment system is completely risk free and has a proven national success rate in excess of 85%. In association with over 300 leading physicians, MedCare has the largest network of offices treating incontinence in the United States.
"We're excited about the continued evolvement of our two business groups, both in the physician's office and on the Internet with our medcareonline.com Internet portal. MedCare is fulfilling its mission of becoming a healthcare technology services company providing physicians with tools necessary to practice medicine in the future," comments Mr. Jeff Aronin, President and CEO of MedCare Technologies. "With the MedCare Program, we expect continued growth as we expand our market by adding different medical specialties, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and hospitals. With regards to our online assets, we believe that the convergence of healthcare withthe Internet is one of the most exciting opportunities for any online business today. As a result, we're in the process of branding our online assets in the minds of both consumers and professionals alike."
Mr. Aronin continues, "Our healthcare portal, located at www.medcareonline.com, has recently expanded fivefold from 2,000 healthcare resources to over 10,000. In doing so, medcareonline.com positions itself as one of the most content rich healthcare-specific portals targeting the estimated 86% of all online users that use the Internet search for healthcare information. And with half of all doctor's patients expected to be online and researching medically related subjects within 24 months, MedCare is developing www.treatamerica.com as America's first and largest free turnkey Internet solution exclusively for physicians and other medical professionals, worldwide."
THE HEALTH.NET INDUSTRY In a recent institutional research report entitled "The health.net Industry", Hambrecht & Quist analysts Stephen Fitzgibbons and Richard Lee state, "We believe the Internet will dramatically change how information flows and how people and organizations interact in healthcare. As an inexpensive, ubiquitous, and flexible technology, the Internet will be used to streamline current processes, enhance the quality of care, and create entirely new ways of conducting business. Individual participants, such as patients and physicians, will benefit from the Internet's strength as an information source and a communications medium. Companies that successfully deploy Internet-based strategies will grow revenues and decrease costs at the expense of their less advanced competitors....Health.net companies, in our opinion, will be a driving force behind this change and reap the rewards of progress."
The companies mentioned in this report include Eclipsys, HBO & Co., now part of McKesson, IDX Systems, mediconsult.com (NASDAQ: MCNS), OnHealth Network, Healtheon Corp. (NASDAQ: HLTH), Yahoo!, AOL, and DrKoop.com (NASDAQ: KOOP).
ABOUT MEDCAREONLINE.COM MedCare Technologies, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Medcareonline, Inc., has also developed www.medcareonline.com as a comprehensive healthcare portal designed to meet the current needs of physicians seeking medical information, tools and information on the Internet in a single location. "This single point of access will provide physicians with all the necessary amenities to practice medicine in the future. It is inevitable that physicians will turn to the Internet in the future, and Medcareonline.com wants to become the portal of choice by offering the physician market a powerful yet simple platform to do so" comments Mr. Marc Menendez, President of Medcareonline, Inc. In addition, with half of all doctor's patients expected to be online researching medically related subjects within 24 months, MedCare has developed www.treatamerica.com, America's first free Internet web page/hosting solution exclusively for physicians and their patients.
MedCare plans to build the worlds largest online physician community through a virtual world of medical tools, information and resources using a single point of access to all medical needs. One of the services Medcareonline will offer is a online auction site of medical equipment, a $97 billion world-wide market. According to Comdisco's Healthcare Group, half of all healthcare systems have yet to develop strategies for identifying and replacing high tech equipment as it ages. MedCare plans to use this opportunity to become the central place to move merchandise for hospitals, physicians and other organizations on a world-wide basis. In a recent report published by Forrester Research, online auctions were rated as one of the top three emerging business-to-business e-commerce models. Vernon Keenan, an Internet analyst at Keenan Vision, predicts the value of goods and services sold over the Internet using auction technology will be $129 billion by 2002.
For additional information, including recent analyst reports, please contact Mr. Bill Mann at 800-611-3388 or visit our website at medcareonline.com
This news release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance and underlying assumptions and other statements which are other than statements of historical facts. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, product and service demand and acceptance, changes in technology, changes in insurance reimbursement, economic conditions, the impact of competition and pricing, government regulation, and other risks defined in this document and in statements filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All such forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, and whether made by or on behalf of the Company are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements and any other cautionary statements which may accompany the forward-looking statements. In addition, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
Copyright (C) 1999 Business Wire. All rights reserved.
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CONTACT: MedCare Technologies, Inc.
Mr. Bill Mann, 800/611-3388
Website: www.medcareonline.com
WEB PAGE: businesswire.com
GEOGRAPHY: CALIFORNIA ILLINOIS
INDUSTRY CODE: PHARMACEUTICAL
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