Connecting healthcare providers. An effective computer network can create durable relationships

Physician networks are computerized systems that link primary care physicians and specialists to one another and to hospitals and other providers. The networks have four key components: communication, practice management, practice marketing, and diagnostic testing capabilities. Advantages of physician networks for hospitals include increased physician loyalty and increased market share through additional admissions and outpatient registrations. From physicians' perspective, networks can help them expand their patient bases and increase revenue, provide additional services for existing patients, automate their offices, and improve their administrative efficiency. Networks also affect the way physicians practice medicine. Changes in practice patterns improve patient care, speed test results, and improve physicians' relationships with each other and their patients. They also save time for physicians and their staff. In deciding whether to develop a network, executives must examine the architectural framework and components they need, their commitment to physician relations, how reliant they are on primary care referrals, the competitive environment, the resources they are willing to commit, legal issues, and the physicians' role in planning.