Information and Business on the Internet: An Overview of the German Healthcare Sector

The Internet and e-commerce are set to revolutionise the German healthcare market in the coming years. This is due, on the one hand, to the almost unlimited availability of information on health topics and, on the other hand, to the handling of business by electronic means, the so-called e-commerce or e-business. Considerable potential savings can be enjoyed by all parties involved — from the industry to hospitals and doctors' practices — in the area of electronic procurement (e-procurement). The integration of data acquired into all processes and systems means considerable reductions in logistic costs thanks to the new XML Internet standard. Where all of this is leading was shown at a MedInform/BVMed conference on e-commerce in the healthcare sector in March 2000 in Bonn/Germany.¹ The present paper provides an overview of the effect of the Internet and e-commerce on the healthcare market: from obtaining information to e-commerce.