Majority of Physicians in Southeastern Wisconsin now Participate in CareEngine Service Offered by HealthEOS

A greater majority of physicians in Southeastern Wisconsin are now participating in CareEngine Service, offered by the states leading PPO, HealthEOS, a medical evidence-based support service, built by physicians for physicians to reduce medical errors.

NEWS RELEASE

FOR RELEASE: October 1, 2003 9:30a.m.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

ALAN GAUDYNSKI, APR

(262) 796-8525

    agaudynski@prwisconsin.com

    Waukesha...At a Health Care Summit of business leaders, consumers, insurers, physicians, hospital administrators and government officials in Waukesha this morning, Bruce Lefco, president and CEO of HealthEOS, the states leading preferred provider organization (PPO), and speaker at the Summit, announced his company has taken major steps to ensure his clients receive the most appropriate care possible. Based on a recent Rand study which state Americans are getting the most appropriate care only 55 percent of the time, Lefco and his staff have convinced most of his physician providers in this part of the state to participate in HealthEOS proprietary CareEngineSM Service.

    Our goal is to have our patients receive the most appropriate care 100 percent of the time," Lefco said.

    We are proud that a greater majority of physicians in this area are willing to participate with us in this medical evidence-based support service built by physicians for physicians," Lefco continued.

    Implementing this program for all of our clients by the end of this year will

substantially increase the quality of care for our Wisconsin participants, reduce death and disability and the number of rehospitalizations, and reduce costs to our sponsoring

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employers by an expected six to eight percent," Lefco stated.

    The CareEngineSM came about due to the current fragmentation of patient data from four separate silos: doctor, hospital, lab and pharmacy. The CareEngineSM applies a series of clinical algorithms to these four sets of data daily, and then flags cases in which there may be a problem with the current course of treatment or medical issue that has not been addressed. These issues are reviewed by CareEngineSM physicians, who then communicate the care considerations findings to a treating physician by a phone call, letter or fax and back it up with research-based evidence often found on-line or in medical journals.

    This whole communication process is completed in a collegial manner without the burden of financial considerations entering into the equation," Lefco said.

    During this past year considerations CareEngineSM physicians forwarded to treating physicians were: 12 percent to stop a prescribed drug; 38 percent to add a prescribed drug; and 50 percent provide better procedures and information on closer monitoring and prevention.

The focus of these services is to identify errors, omissions and gaps in care to prevent adverse clinical events and reduce healthcare costs for health plan members through evidence-based clinical information, innovative technology and targeted communications. This tool enables payers to deliver on the promise of high quality care

by identifying at-risk patients in time to avert serious medical errors and prevent errors of

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omission or commission from becoming catastrophic for the patient and costly for the health plan," Lefco concluded.

    For more information about the CareEngineSM Service check out the Web site: www.healtheos.com or call: (800) 279-9776 ext 7716.

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