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Three Hundred Health Net Members With Diabetes to Benefit From New Pilot Program Through Alere Medical; Health Net Selects Alere Based on Improved Health Results of Members With Chronic Heart Failure

Posted on: Tuesday, 11 July 2006, 09:00 CDT

Alere Medical, Inc., one of the leading disease management companies, today announced implementation of a new pilot program with Health Net of Arizona Inc. to help its members with diabetes enjoy better health. This announcement comes after Alere proved its value by measurably improving the health of Health Net of Arizona's members with chronic heart failure.

Health Net of Arizona chose Alere to implement the new program with 300 of its Medicare Advantage health plan members with diabetes. These members also have significant risk of developing other serious health difficulties.

"Health Net's mission is to help people be healthy, and that includes our members who are living with ongoing chronic health conditions," said Richard Jacobs, MD, chief medical officer for Health Net of Arizona. "Alere Medical has demonstrated throughout our four-year partnership an ability to uniquely help people with heart failure. Based on that documented success, and seeing the comprehensive approach and competency they and Joslin Diabetes Center have, we expect similar success with the diabetes program."

Alere's diabetes program was developed in partnership with Joslin Diabetes Center, the global leader in diabetes research, patient care and education. The program consists of ongoing patient monitoring, education and telephonic coaching in coordination with patients' primary care physicians. Joslin is an innovator in the use of self-management education to improve measures of care and reduce the acute and chronic complications of diabetes. The program focuses on helping patients understand their health care needs and correctly follow the treatment plan of their doctors, which is key to improving their health. Joslin has treated more than a quarter of a million patients since 1898, resulting in average glucose levels substantially below the national average. These results are significant given that the patients treated at Joslin tend to be those with more difficult management issues and more likely to be affected by the complications of diabetes.

"Diabetes is a significant public health problem here in Arizona, as it is nationwide, affecting more than six percent of the Arizona adult population(1)," Dr. Jacobs added. "By proactively working with members and their primary care physicians through programs like Alere's and Joslin's partnership, we can positively impact the quality of their lives and minimize the risks associated with the illness."

The one-year, pilot program connects patients with a health care team via biometric and telephonic monitoring and physician reporting. Alere's clinical services include diabetes interventions, medication adherence and education that empowers patients to improve their health and ultimately reduce the progression of disease complications. The clinical interventions are supported by Joslin's clinical practice guidelines and promote a collaborative relationship between the physician and patient.

In addition to diabetes, the programs will also focus on improving the health of people with coronary artery disease (CAD), a known concurrent risk for people with diabetes. By creating specialized programs addressing diseases that often occur concurrently with one another, Alere provides members with comprehensive care services - meeting and often exceeding members' health care goals.

Diabetes affects an estimated 20.8 million people in the United States and often leads to heart and renal disease.(2) Additionally, about 13 million people have CAD, making it the leading cause of death in both men and women.(3) Through early detection, appropriate interventions, on-going monitoring and education, disease complications can be prevented.

"We are very pleased that Health Net of Arizona has provided us with the opportunity to support their network physicians and members with this innovative program for managing diabetes today," said Ron Geraty, president and chief executive officer of Alere Medical, Inc. "Our collaboration with Joslin is quickly being recognized by health plans and other disease management customers for its unique ability to combine technology, patient education and real-time communication to patients and their physicians. This integrated approach allows us to deliver on the health objectives of all parties in managing diabetes and we look forward to demonstrating our value via the successful participation in this pilot."

Alere began work with Health Net of Arizona in March 2002 with a pilot program for members who had chronic heart failure. Successful results of the pilot program led to Alere securing a national contract with Health Net to help all of its members with chronic heart failure. To date, 1,322 members have been enrolled in the program and in a recent patient satisfaction survey, 97.5 percent of patients said they would recommend Alere's heart failure program. The success of Alere's heart failure program for Health Net of Arizona validates its approach and capabilities to implement a successful diabetes program.

NOTE TO MEDIA: The following Health Net Members have been on the Alere program for more than a year and are available for interviews regarding their experience with Alere.

Molly Moshinsky of Tucson, Ariz.

"The nurses are just wonderful, always checking up on me, making sure my numbers are where they should be. One day they were so concerned they took the care to call my doctor...on a Sunday! They are really on their toes."

David Meaker of Tucson, Ariz.

"This program is a godsend. Before, when I didn't feel well, I would panic. Now, using this great tool, I understand my own body and have the ability to react to what my body is telling me. On the Alere program, I can depend on my doctor, the nurses and myself."

About Alere Medical Inc.

Alere Medical Incorporated is a leader in specialized, disease management services focusing on select high cost diseases to maximize clients' return on investment. Alere produces unequalled clinical and cost saving results, by precision targeting the patients who will benefit most from specialty interventions. Alere's integrated care monitoring system identifies and monitors all medium- and high-risk patients, and prioritizes those patients to facilitate efficient workflow. With published outcomes that exceed those of any competitor, Alere Medical's disease management programs result in improved clinical outcomes for patients, and guaranteed savings for clients.

Alere Medical has received NCQA Patient Oriented Full Accreditation for its Heart Failure Disease Management Program, Patient and Physician Oriented Full Accreditation for its Asthma and COPD Programs powered by National Jewish Research Center (2004-2007), and is also ranked #61 on the Inc. 500 list of America's fastest-growing private companies (2005). For more information, visit www.alere.com or call (775) 829-8885.

About Joslin Diabetes Center

Joslin Diabetes Center, dedicated to conquering diabetes in all of its forms, is the global leader in diabetes research, care and education. Founded in 1898, Joslin is an independent nonprofit institution affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Joslin research is a team of more than 300 people at the forefront of discovery aimed at preventing and curing diabetes. Joslin Clinic, affiliated with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, the nationwide network of Joslin Affiliated Programs, and the hundreds of Joslin educational programs offered each year for clinicians, researchers and patients, enable Joslin to develop, implement and share innovations that immeasurably improve the lives of people with diabetes. For more information about Joslin, call 1-800-JOSLIN-1 or visit www.joslin.org. (1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; http://www.cdc.gov/ diabetes/statistics/prev/state/fPrevalence2004Total.htm (2) American Diabetes Association; http://www.diabetes.org/about- diabetes.jsp (3) National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov /health/dci/Diseases/Cad/CAD_WhoIsAtRisk.html

(Due to their lengths, the above URLs may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra spaces if any exist.)

Source: Business Wire

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