MEDICALOGIC: Acquires Content, Case Note Companies
MedicaLogic Inc., which provides electronic medical record systems to physicians, has acquired two online health companies, Medscape Inc. and Total eMed Inc., for a total of about $1.1 billion in stock, the Wall Street Journal reports. Medscape provides medical information to physicians and consumers on its Web site, www.medscape.com, and operates the consumer health site CBSHealthwatch in partnership with CBS Corp.; Total eMed provides a service that allows doctors to access case notes via the Internet. The acquisitions will give MedicaLogic access to more physicians as it tries to shift its services to an Internet-based platform, similar to what Healtheon/WebMD expects to accomplish with its recent purchase of CareInsite. MedicaLogic plans to coordinate the services offered by the three companies, offering medical information through Medscape at the point of care to physicians using its medical records software. Consumers, who will still have access to Medscape's content, will also be able to communicate with their physicians, access their medical records and make appointments online (Carrns, 2/23).
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