Fig. 1 depicts that health care organizations can use the In-
ternet to link not only their own operations, but also the opera-
tions of suppliers and physicians, and needs of patients. The dia-
gram shows that the Internet facilitates two-way communication
between all entities in the supply chain. In addition to general
communication and data exchange through the Internet, sup-
pliers, including insurance providers and pharmaceutical com-
panies, can access part of a health care organization’s enterprise
systems via secure extranets. The model also shows that internal
company data can be accessed by physicians and specialists via
intranets. Notice also that the Internet is not shown to be a re-placement for the physician–patient relationship; instead it is
meant to enhance this relationship, by making both physicians
and patients better informed.