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Eric Ng

Competition among online healthcare trading exchanges has intensified with companies giving away free computers and high-speed Internet access as incentives to user registration.

However, despite the aggressive marketing tactics, operators have had a difficult time convincing private doctors of the exchanges' merits.

Industry executives expected escalating competition would result in the consolidation of at least 10 operators into a few dominant ones.

Health Care International Holdings, Healthbasics.com, ehealthcareasia.com and Fosson are among operators that have in the past few months launched Internet-based platforms linking doctors and their trading partners, such as insurance firms, pharmaceutical suppliers and medical laboratories.

Both ehealthcareasia.com and Health Care International have given away free computers as part of their marketing campaigns.

A free high-speed Internet access package also has been a feature of ehealthcareasia's marketing plan.

The trading platforms are designed to help doctors cut costs by automating office administration and digitising patients' records.

Lower procurement costs through network-wide bulk-purchasing was also a big selling point of the exchanges.

But some doctors have expressed reservations towards the exchanges, viewing them as another form of commission-making health-management organisations.

A doctor who did not join any of the exchanges said: 'There is no free lunch. Today they are giving you free gifts; one of these days they will have to make some money out of you in other ways.'

While she acknowledged the benefits of office automation and electronic databases, she was concerned that putting patients' data over a shared network would jeopardise her business and her clients' privacy.

Another doctor said he was worried that, once he decided to use an operator's proprietary software, he would have to pay high maintenance charges later.

Heath Care International executive director Harris Ng conceded it was difficult convincing doctors to expose patient records - which many doctors view as assets - over the network. However, Mr Ng said that, legally, the data belonged to the patients.

'We would work on the patients and educate them that they have the right to their records.'

Some doctors doubted buying over the network would save much after accounting for network operators' profit margin or commission. Many doctors already shared bulk-purchase discounts through existing private purchasing groups, they said.



Healthcare sites escalate doctor sign-up war