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HealthMedia Makes the Case for On-Line Chronic Illness Self-Management

Posted on: Thursday, 16 February 2006, 12:00 CST

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthMedia, Inc., the market leader in tailored behavior change programs, has announced that its chronic illness self-management program called HealthMedia(R) Care(TM) for Your Health has produced significant health improvements for its participants.

Care(TM) for Your Health was designed to address the growing demand for chronic illness self-management. Today, more than 90 million Americans live with chronic illnesses and their medical costs account for more than 75% of the nation's $1.4 trillion in total medical care costs. Care(TM) for Your Health stems the rising tide by providing a tailored intervention that creates expert patients to reduce healthcare costs. An expert patient is one who has the knowledge, motivation and self-confidence to take charge of one's own health care situation. Care(TM) for Your Health is considered a behavior change intervention because it identifies, and then modifies or changes undesirable health-related behaviors.

HealthMedia(R) Care(TM) for Your Health works by reinforcing a patient's motivation and self-confidence to accept their condition and their role as leader of their health management team. Key outcomes for the patient include improved doctor and patient communication, improved medication compliance, and improved management of related issues such as stress, depression, sleep, pain and lifestyle behaviors.

Impressive Results

After 90 days, participants in Care(TM) for Your Health are asked a series of follow-up questions. To date, the results are impressive:

-- 89% of Care(TM) for Your Health participants indicate that their health improved as a result of taking the program. -- 92% agree that they have a better understanding of the role they play in managing their chronic condition(s) as a results of taking the program. -- 89% agree they are able to better communicate with their health care providers about their concerns, goals, and condition(s) as a result of taking the program. -- Patients who have low self-confidence report a 78% increase in ability to manage their condition and a 56% increase in ability to manage emotional issues such as fear, anger, stress and depression.

"We find these initial results very encouraging," says Ted Dacko, CEO and President of HealthMedia. "Care(TM) for Your Health is considered preventive medicine when it comes to treating patients with chronic conditions at lower acuity levels. Participants are also telling us they are more productive at work and at home, and leading fuller lives. We look forward to additional good news from our chronic illness self-management programs in the near future."

Staffing Up for Chronic Illness

Anticipating a growing need for these programs, HealthMedia is investing resources accordingly, beginning with the appointment of Ed Baas as Director - Disease Management Product Marketing.

Baas is responsible for launching all of HealthMedia's behavior change interventions for chronic illness and disease management, addressing conditions such as diabetes, back pain and hypertension. This requires that product aspects from market analysis through channel support are formalized and addressed in the product creation and launch process. Baas will also be responsible for the company's multi-dimensional outcomes reporting programs.

"We are very excited to leverage Ed's experiences in behavioral healthcare and decision support along with his interests to help HealthMedia grow by having solid launch plans for the chronic illness self-management product lines," adds Ted Dacko.

Baas has more than 20 years experience in software development, with roles from consulting, marketing and international business development to leadership roles in the product groups. Prior to joining HealthMedia he was the CTO of Vale Solutions and VP Development for The Echo Group, formerly Centromine, Inc., a behavioral healthcare software organization. Prior to this, Baas held several roles, both domestic and international, at Comshare, Inc., an Ann Arbor based decision support software organization. Baas holds degrees from the University of Alberta in Science and Business Administration, and a Certified Management Accounting designation.

About HealthMedia, Inc.

Founded in 1998, HealthMedia is the market leader in behavior change. With its powerful combination of proven behavior science, sophisticated technology, and creative marketing, HealthMedia delivers individually tailored self- management programs for healthy lifestyle issues, diseases, and conditions.

These programs, which are utilized by pharmaceutical and medical device firms, health plans, employers, and organizations focused on disease management, augment the personal touch and efficacy of a counselor by reaching far more people at dramatically lower costs to maximize the impact. HealthMedia's individually tailored solutions are proven to produce validated outcomes and positive ROI. The company has created programs for conditions and issues such as diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, lower back pain, teen health, smoking cessation, nutrition, weight management, stress management, and health risk assessment. For more information about HealthMedia, please visit http://www.healthmedia.com/.

First Call Analyst: FCMN Contact:

HealthMedia, Inc.

CONTACT: Sally Hart Petersen of HealthMedia, Inc., +1-734-623-5485

Web site: http://www.healthmedia.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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