News in brief - Oct. 11, 2004

WebMD uncovers financial mistakes - Kaiser unveils ad campaign - EMR certification group sets goals

WebMD uncovers financial mistakes

WebMD Corp. said Sept. 23 that it had discovered "some evidence" of accounting improprieties but does not believe it will have to restate prior financial results.

The alleged improprieties occurred and artificially inflated the revenue of Medical Manager before its acquisition of the practice management software company, WebMD said.

The New Jersey-based company has been under investigation by federal authorities for more than a year. WebMD believes the investigations involve a $5.5 million restatement that Medical Manager made in 1999.

WebMD also announced that Kevin Cameron, a special adviser to its chair, Martin J. Wygod, replaced Roger Holstein as CEO effective Oct. 1. Holstein was named CEO of WebMD Health, the online health information unit that WebMD is considering spinning off as a separate publicly traded company. Holstein will remain on WebMD's board of directors.

Kaiser unveils ad campaign

Kaiser Permanente's research into how it's viewed by the public unearthed some unpleasant findings. Many people who weren't its patients, surveys said, view the health system as bureaucratic and impersonal -- a good place to get treatment for serious illness but not for wellness programs or routine, lifelong care.

That's why during the summer, the Oakland, Calif.-based HMO launched a $40 million advertising campaign, its biggest-ever, in hopes ultimately it will impress employers and bring more members into its folds. The campaign, which is scheduled to continue into 2005, portrays the system as a champion of individual health improvement.

Kaiser's new marketing, which uses the tag line "Thrive" in the TV and radio spots, print ads, and billboards, is targeted widely, said Mark Simon, executive vice-president and creative director for Campbell-Ewald, the Warren, Mich.-based ad agency that created the campaign.

This is Kaiser's first major marketing push since a consumer group sued it three years ago, charging that it falsely used statements in ads boasting Kaiser doctors make all medical decisions and not "bean counters" or administrators. The suit also brought attention to the use of cost-cutting guidelines and incentives at the plan. The lawsuit was ultimately settled.

EMR certification group sets goals

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology announced in September that it expects to have a first-step certification process for outpatient electronic medical records systems ready for testing by the summer of 2005.

The commission also expects to roll out comprehensive second- and third-year certification processes in subsequent years as part of its effort to develop industrywide voluntary certification standards for EMRs, making it easier for physicians to evaluate and select EMRs.

The commission was founded in July by the American Health Information Management Society Assn., the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and the National Alliance for Health Information Technology. Certification of EMRs plays a key role in the Bush administration's plans to spur physician adoption of EMRs, and create a national health information network and electronic records for every American in the next 10 years.