WebMD becomes Emdeon

WebMD Corp. recently announced that it has renamed itself Emdeon Corp. The corporation is changing its name in order to avoid confusion with its subsidiary, WebMD Health.

The Company made this decision because the WebMD name is more closely associated with WebMD Health and its web sites than with its other businesses.
       
Emdeon's businesses, to be known as Emdeon Business Services, include the following:

• Emdeon Business Services, which provides revenue cycle management and clinical communications products;
• Emdeon Practice Services, which provides physician practice management and electronic health record software and related services;
• WebMD Health, which provides health information services for consumers, physicians, healthcare professionals, employers and health plans through its public and private online portals and health-focused publications; and
• Porex, which manufactures and distributes porous plastic products and components used in healthcare, industrial and consumer applications.

The implementation of operational and branding use of the name Emdeon will begin immediately, the company said.
   
Separately the company has issued its key financial results for the second quarter 2005. Revenue for the second quarter was $322.6 million compared to $281.9 million a year ago, an increase of 14.4 percent. Income before taxes, non-cash and other items for the second quarter was $45.8 million compared to $30 million a year ago. Income before taxes, non-cash and other items for the second quarter includes approximately $3.6 million, of charges primarily related to severance and recruiting expenses within the WebMD Health segment. The corporation's net income for the second quarter was $16.2 million or compared to $5.8 million for the same period in 2004.