The Australian health industry has put its finger on the pulse of the
Internet age. A national rollout of an Internet solution known as
Thelma is linking its lifeline of health associated bodies, in a world-first
operation.
Thelma stands for Transactional Health Exchange Linking Multiple Applications.
"We've got first-mover advantage," ICSGlobal managing director, Tim
Murray, told ZDNet. (Thelma Pty Ltd, the owner of Thelma, is a
subsidiary of IBSGlobal.)
"There's no question that [Thelma] is the first in this country and
[although we've] heard of similar things happening in the US, nothing's
working yet," Murray added.
Thelma already has admirers in Malaysia, Canada and the States.
Thelma's first live transaction was that of eligibility checking -
clarifying a patient's private health cover - an enormous benefit to
hospitals who wear the risk of paying the average private hospital bill
of AU$3500 if a patient doesn't own the correct private health
insurance.
It currently takes up to four hours to check a patient's eligibility,
whilst the online checking mechanism provided by Thelma has a 20-second
turnaround time, according to Murray.
More transactions have since gone live, including a service that keeps
GPs and specialists in the loop via e-mail about patient
admittance/dishcharge, as well as a simplified billing procedure.
All of the transactions that have been executed to date have been the
type that the health industry is willing to pay for, "as a means to get
the revenue flowing," Murray said.
Thelma's business plan forecasts that the project will be cash flow
positive by July 2001 and will achieve about 20 percent penetration of
this AU$250 million market in its second year.
"Progressively more transactions will go live over the next five years,"
Murray added. "With other transactions added for free further down the
track."
ICSGlobal, which has invested initial funding of AU$3 million in project
Thelma, anticipates having 85 private hospitals and about 10 health
funds connected this financial year.
With an anticipated investment of AU$10 million in Thelma, progressive
investment is being sought through the selling of equity in the project,
with round one of investment funding due to close off at the end of the
month.
First round investment partners include a major hospital group, a health
fund and one of Australia's big five investment houses, according to
Murray.
The second round of investment accrual will run through until February
2001. "That will probably be sufficient capital to take the group
through to mid-2002," Murray said, when Thelma Pty Ltd plans to float on
the Australian Stock Exchange.
Second round interested partners include a pharmaceutical company, a
major bank and two telecommunications carriers.
With a AU$47 billion health industry in Australia, Thelma is a potential
AU$10 billion cost-cutting venture, Murray said.
"It's a significant national initiative and with the Aussie dollar at an
all-time low, these sorts of initiatives might turn the tables where we
see some redress in the dollar," he added.
