e-Health Quality Partners Named Exclusive Education and Outreach Affiliate of the Internet Healthcare Coalition: Diverse Educational Programs and Consulting Services Offered to e-Businesses and Consumer Groups under Auspices of Internet Healthcare Coali

The Internet Healthcare Coalition (the Coalition," www.ihealthcoalition.org) and e-Health Quality Partners (e-HQP; www.e-hqp.com), announced today that they have entered into an exclusive alliance to develop and deliver educational programs bearing the Coalitions brand. Under the agreement, e-HQP will offer educational and consulting programs, research services, conferences, publications, executive workshops, employee training, meeting facilitation and strategic planning activities. These products and services will be designed to meet the diverse needs of e-health and other businesses, healthcare providers, not-for-profits, and consumers. The Coalition will provide expert editorial oversight of program and service content to ensure that it conforms to the Coalitions mission and to the highest standards of balance and quality.

e-Health Quality Partners Named Exclusive Education and Outreach Affiliate of the Internet Healthcare Coalition

Diverse Educational Programs and Consulting Services Offered to e-Businesses and Consumer Groups under Auspices of Internet Healthcare Coalition
Contacts:
John Mack, President, Internet Healthcare Coalition
Phone: (215) 504-4164
e-mail: ihc-president@ihealthcoalition.org

Lois C. Ambash, Principal, e-Health Quality Partners
Phone: (212) 675-9934
e-mail: lcambash@e-hqp.com

Ahmad Risk, Chairman, Internet Healthcare Coalition
Phone (England): 44 (1273) 724866
e-mail: risk@cybermedic.org

Washington, D.C., April 24, 2002 -- The Internet Healthcare Coalition (the Coalition," www.ihealthcoalition.org) and e-Health Quality Partners (e-HQP; www.e-hqp.com), announced today that they have entered into an exclusive alliance to develop and deliver educational programs bearing the Coalitions brand.

Under the agreement, e-HQP will offer educational and consulting programs, research services, conferences, publications, executive workshops, employee training, meeting facilitation and strategic planning activities. These products and services will be designed to meet the diverse needs of e-health and other businesses, healthcare providers, not-for-profits, and consumers. The Coalition will provide expert editorial oversight of program and service content to ensure that it conforms to the Coalitions mission and to the highest standards of balance and quality.

This is an important strategic business relationship that will help the Coalition revitalize its educational mission," stated John Mack, President of the Internet Healthcare Coalition and a principal of e-HQP. Up until now, the Coalition has depended exclusively on small grants and volunteer efforts to roll out educational programs. e-HQP will provide the necessary business acumen, financial resources, and organizational development expertise to market, launch, and manage many projects that the Coalition could not otherwise undertake."

Over one hundred million American adults, and a growing number of others worldwide, regularly use the Internet to seek health-related information," said Lois Ambash, Coalition board member and e-HQP principal. e-HQP will partner with the Coalition to improve the quality of e-health information and services available on the Internet, help e-health businesses build trusted brands, and assist consumers in making informed choices among the many e-health products and services available to them."

The key provision of the Coalition/e-HQP alliance is an exclusive licensing agreement covering educational products and services that will bear the Coalitions imprimatur and logo. e-HQPs demonstrated commitment to the mission of the Coalition and its business expertise make it an ideal trusted partner" to advance the Coalitions interests in a manner that is both ethically sound and fiscally advantageous to the Coalition.

The Coalition has a broad base of stakeholders and a reputation for being unbiased," said Ahmad Risk, Coalition Board chairman. As demonstrated by our critical role in developing the international e-Health Code of Ethics, the Coalition also has strong relationships with many opinion leaders eager to collaborate under our auspices. Now, with e-HQPs help, we hope to bring these qualities and experts together to offer programs and services that allow other organizations to develop best practices for interactive healthcare."

A critical goal of the strategic alliance is to help organizations conform to the e-Health Code of Ethics, a product of the Coalitions international eHealth Ethics Initiative." In addition, e-HQP will establish and manage a Coalition Speakers Bureau and form educational partnerships with a variety of businesses and organizations.

About e-Health Quality Partners
e-Health Quality Partners is a strategic business alliance between VirSci Corporation (John J. Mack, President), a firm dedicated to developing and applying best practices in privacy, usability, and quality to online pharmaceutical and health marketing, and Metaforix Incorporated (Lois C. Ambash, President), whose purpose is to help businesses and organizations adapt to the changing business environments and customer expectations of the Information Age through organizational planning, learning, and communications. The mission of e-Health Quality Partners is to offer educational programs and e-health communications that conform to the highest standards of ethics and quality to e-health businesses, healthcare organizations, consumers, and other interested groups, and to help organizations integrate those high standards into everyday business practices.
About the Internet Healthcare Coalition
The Coalition is an international, non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to identifying and promoting quality healthcare resources on the Internet. Founded in 1997 and based in Washington, D.C., the Coalition's membership represents every sector of the Internet health space, including consumers, commercial developers of health information, medical libraries, special-interest societies, and manufacturers of regulated drugs and medical devices. The goal of the Coalition is to educate healthcare consumers and professionals about the evolving issues relating to the quality of Internet health resources and information. In October 1999, the Coalition launched its ongoing "eHealth Ethics Initiative" to provide a forum for the development of a universal set of ethical principles for health-related Web sites.

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