NetDoktor A/S (NetDoctor.com)

NetDoctor (NetDoktor A/S) was founded in 1998 in Denmark by journalist Rune Bech and medical doctor Carl J. Brandt. It initially became a big success in Denmark, and after getting funding from Apax Partners in Munich they took it into nine European countries. It quickly became a huge success, with more than one million unique users per month by year 2000. However the burst of the internet bubble in 2001 hindered an IPO that was otherwise planned and scheduled in Frankfurt and Copenhagen (a double listing led by Warburg Dillon Read and Nordea). After a re-structuring the company closed its Southern European subsidiaries and focus on UK, Germany, Austria, Denmark and Sweden. Apax Partners eventually broke up the company into national entities and sold it on. In Britain Hearst Corporation bought the company and runs it today. NetDoctor's mission is to break down the "medical language barrier" between the doctor and the patient. Critical medical information must be presented in a clear and understandable language so that the patient fully understands his or her choices and decisions. Ultimately, it is the patient who must make the critical health choices. We believe that in the future the world of medicine will be dominated by a new patient who seeks out critical information on the Internet - and that this will take a new type of doctor who must help the patient assess the quality of that information. NetDoctor.co.uk is committed to helping both parties in their quest.