Accordant Health Services to Provide Specialized Disease Management Program to Independent Health Members

Accordant Program Supports Independent Healths Commitment to Intervention Initiatives to Minimize the Effects of Health Problems

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Accordant Health Services to Provide Specialized Disease Management Program to Independent Health Members

Accordant Program Supports Independent Healths Commitment to Intervention Initiatives to Minimize the Effects of Health Problems

            
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- April 18, 2002 -- Accordant Health Services (AHS), a population-based disease management (DM) company focusing on a constellation of complex, chronic diseases, today announced a signed agreement with Independent Health, a not-for-profit organization that offers a variety of managed care products in Western New York. According to the terms of the contract, Accordant will provide DM programs for rare diseases including cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, ALS (Lou Gehrigs disease) and rheumatoid arthritis. The agreement covers all Independent Healths lines of business: its commercial HMO, Medicare, Medicaid and self-funded plans.

Independent Health has a disease management department to assist our members and participating physicians in the care of more common, but challenging ailments such as asthma, diabetes, and congestive heart failure. There are, however, some less common diseases of significant complexity where case management specialists, such as Accordant, can offer specialized support for physicians and their patients," says Michael Cropp, M.D., executive vice president and chief medical officer, Independent Health. Accordant's extensive experience with patients with complex conditions allows them to know what interventions and activities will provide the best outcomes for patients and the most value to the entire care management process."

According to Accordant CEO Steve Schelhammer, Independent Health was seeking a business partner with the expertise to identify a select patient population and then implement a proactive program which would address the specialized healthcare needs of those patients.

Accordants patient search template is a strategic 'first step in meeting our contractual obligations with Independent Health to identify those within its patient population best served by our programs," explains Schelhammer. Accordants recognized experts will implement an education model to manage these patients diseases and to minimize medical complications from these chronic conditions, showing demonstrable cost savings in year one of the contract."

About Independent Health
Headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Independent Health began operations in 1980. In addition to the original HMO, the health coverage company has expanded its managed care offerings to include a point-of-service product and coverage for self-funded employers, Medicare and Medicaid managed care plans as well as a new PPO product beginning January 2002. The company has a combined membership of nearly 380,000. More information about the health plan is available at www.independenthealth.com.

About Accordant
Accordant, based in Greensboro, N.C., focuses on assisting patients who have complex chronic diseases with the goal of improving clinical, patient satisfaction, and cost-of-care outcomes. The company relies on its expert Tele-Web" system that integrates Internet and call-center technologies to enable flexible, intelligent and customized information sharing among patients, providers and health plans. Accordant is a leader in population-based disease management for a constellation of complex, chronic diseases including multiple sclerosis, Lupus, Parkinsons, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell anemia. Accordant has supported over 20,000 chronic patients whose participation has been sponsored by their health plan. Accordants Medical Advisory Board is comprised of national medical experts who participate in the development and continuous quality improvement of the companys programs. For more information about Accordant, visit www.accordant.com or call 1-800-948-2497.

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Jerry Schranz
CPRi Communications, Inc.
370 North Street
Teterboro, NJ 07608
201-641-1911 Phone ext. 14
www.cpronline.com