Thinking about a Web site? Here’s how to set one up
The Internet for medical records is years away
Brookside Hospital in San Pablo, CA, has a Web site on the Internet. The facility isn’t using it much yet, but management wants to be ready.
Some day Brookside will employ the World Wide Web to routinely communicate with foreign providers, transmit patient data to insurers, and get claims paid by several carriers simultaneously.
The economic benefits of using the Internet for business is "potentially unlimited," says Neil Sandow, PharmD, Brookside’s pharmacy director, who created the hospital’s Web site on his off-time.
The problem: The Internet as a vehicle for electronic reimbursement and patient information is still years away. Using the Web for payment and medical record functions lags far behind its use as an information retrieval tool, Sandow says.
The biggest barrier facing providers is data security. While the technology to safeguard the information has been available, payers and providers hesitate to take the risk, Sandow says.
So what’s left? Most facilities set up Web sites to promote their services, send e-mail, access other Web sites, and retrieve ancillary information such as Medicare regulations and clinical research, notes Jane Rogers, RRA, president of HealthInfo Net Services, a Fort Worth, TX-based Internet technology consulting firm.
In fact, the biggest use of the Internet so far has been the retrieval of clinical research in helping physicians treat patients using timely, accurate information. Medical informatics is the fastest growing segment of Web technology in health care, most providers say.
Another convenience has been the Web’s ability to feed large volumes of data to separate information systems. Most facilities have a variety of independent information systems for billing, medical records, and clinical information. The Web can feed them all simultaneously, Rogers says.
Until providers can use the Web for reimbursements, these are attractive options especially for independent outpatient facilities, she adds. How else can you tap into a worldwide network for information via simple phone lines and share the information with other clinics miles away? Rogers asks.
If you’re thinking of setting up your own Web site in anticipation of conducting financial transactions, here’s how to go about it:
• Adopt a name and have it registered.
A Web site address can assume a variety of forms. But basically it involves words or initials that identify the individual or organization by name and are set off by the familiar dots, beginning with the letters www and often ending with the abbreviation com.
Before the name can become valid, the prospective user has to register the address with InterNic, a Washington, DC-based cooperative composed of the National Science Foundation, AT&T, and Network Solutions, a private technology consulting firm based in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. InterNic is under contract with the federal government to register Web sites in the United States.
In the process, InterNic will advise the user on whether the name is suitable and available for use. The user also has to indicate whether the Web site will be attached to an internal client server computer such as Unix or space will be rented on a commercial server, Sandow says.
Client servers are large computers that distribute information to a network of PC workstations. Some private companies lease server space to the public at a fee for use with Web sites.
• Obtain the necessary Web software.
The software needed for building a Web site will convert text and graphical materials into usable form, or "hypertext mark-up language" (HTML), for the Internet. The software can be purchased as a stand-alone at most computer stores. It also comes built into certain office software packages such as WordPerfect or Microsoft Word.
A free source is the Internet itself. Contact a local Internet access provider for instructions on how to obtain the HTML software. Access providers such as America Online or Compuserve are listed with their telephone numbers in national computer magazines.
Essentially, HTML enables you to create animation, graphic designs, and colored backgrounds on the screen. The language also helps you perform database searches, Sandow says. Once you obtain the HTML software, the program needs to be installed in the designated client server that was documented with InterNic.
You’ll then need a separate software program to transfer files from your PC to the server. This program is typically called a "file transfer protocol" and also is available free through the Internet or can be purchased from computer stores. Prices for these software products vary according to geographic regions.
• Promote your Web site.
Once the hardware and software are in place, sending your Web site out into cyberspace is automatic, Rogers says. Create a keyword such as "outpatient surgery" to enable browsers to link up with your site. Web browsers are programs that come built into most new computers and business software. They contain internal tools called search engines that scour the Web for relevant sites.
If someone uses a keyword relevant to your particular Web site, the search engine will identify your site and deliver the information to the user. Netscape and Microsoft Explore are two well-known browsers.
"Your home page is now freely available to anyone," says Rogers. Therefore, it should contain material that is not only useful and relevant to global users but also safe and legal, she adds.
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