The online enterprise will facilitate the exchange of information related to buying, selling and distributing medical equipment, devices and healthcare products worldwide. This will help healthcare providers make efficient purchasing decisions by simplifying business processes and providing a single source for healthcare purchases. Ordering, inquiry of order status, order confirmation, product catalog and access to correct contract terms will all be available online. The goal of the venture is to streamline the healthcare supply chain for all manufacturers, distributors, group purchasing organizations and healthcare providers. Merck-Medco and The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. have teamed up to create YOURxPLAN, a prescription savings plan for people who pay for prescription drugs themselves.
Members can order medications by mail, from the Internet, by telephone or at a pharmacy.
They plan to create a model for online transactions that includes digital credentials for medical professionals. This will allow physicians, technicians, insurers, patients and other medical professionals to safely transmit information online. Of the 600 consumers surveyed, those who search for health information online have the highest level of trust when the information is presented by a recognized organization, such as the National Cancer Institute. When presented with clinical evidence, more than two-thirds considered the information highly trustworthy and slightly fewer consumers trusted information that came with a doctor's recommendation. However, a majority of those surveyed had the least trust in sites sponsored by a pharmaceutical company.