Healthwise Unveils the Future of Disease Self-Management

Introducing: Health Mastery

| Source: Healthwise Healthwise

PARK CITY, UT--(Marketwire - October 8, 2007) - Patients who wish to master their complex health conditions can now use a new generation of information therapy (Ix) tools to help them succeed. Healthwise, a nonprofit organization whose sole mission is to help people make better health decisions, has launched 15 new Ix® HealthMastery® Campaigns to help people manage their conditions. Healthwise licenses the Campaigns to health plans and other organizations that in turn provide them to their members.

"The Ix HealthMastery Campaigns maximize what patients can do for themselves over the long run," said Don Kemper, Healthwise CEO. "Prescribing these low-cost tools to the people who need them most will revolutionize the way disease management and chronic care are practiced."

Ongoing Help at Every "Teachable-Moment"

With every new cycle of symptoms and each new stage of complex health conditions, a patient's opportunity for self-management changes. Ix HealthMastery Campaigns interactively guide each patient to do more for himself at every new "moment in care." The programs continue over a period of time, sometimes years. The tools give people the competence and confidence they need in order to master the various aspects of their condition. For example, a person prescribed the new Type 2 Diabetes Campaign will start with the basics of diabetes and then gain competence in each of ten additional self-management areas: 

--  Understanding the Basics about Diabetes
--  Blood Sugar Goals and Testing
--  The Importance of A1c Testing
--  Diabetes Medicines
--  Healthy Eating for Diabetes
--  How Activity Controls Blood Sugar
--  Foot Care
--  Screenings
--  Understanding and Preventing Complications
--  Living with Diabetes
--  Smoking and Diabetes

New Media Engagement and a Tailored Online Delivery Model

Healthwise® Ix HealthMastery Campaign messages engage people in three ways. First, the Campaigns use information triggers about the person's current care, collected through the sponsoring organization's electronic medical records and claims data as well as information reported by the consumer, to personalize and tailor the Campaign. There is nothing more engaging than information specifically focused on you.

Second, the messages use magazine-style articles, personal stories, recipes, and quizzes to add vitality to the traditional patient education themes.

Third, each Campaign includes at least one "Ix Conversation" using a new interactive conversation. The conversation experience is like that of an appointment with a health educator or counselor -- but is done from the convenience of the patient's home, on the computer. By combining the principles of motivational interviewing with an empathetic voice and ultra-responsive technology, Ix Conversations have surprisingly human qualities. For many it feels like a real conversation with a real person -- but without the cost of a clinic visit.

Behavior Change Principles

Healthwise draws on behavior change science, integrating six principles into each program to enhance the impact on self-management actions: 

--  Increase confidence
--  Create goals
--  Monitor progress
--  Overcome barriers
--  Cope with relapses
--  Engage social support

Ix HealthMastery Campaign Packages

The 15 HealthMastery Campaigns can be implemented by a health plan or any organization committed to improving health outcomes, all at once or in three related groupings: 

Managing Chronic Conditions
     Asthma
     Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
     Coronary Artery Disease
     Heart Failure
     Type 2 Diabetes

Living Well, Working Well
     Arthritis
     Depression
     Headaches
     Low Back Pain
     Pregnancy

Reducing the Risk
     Back Pain Prevention
     High Cholesterol
     High Blood Pressure
     Prediabetes
     Stop Smoking

In a Perfect World

In a perfect world a wise and caring counselor would be assigned to each patient -- to monitor symptoms and care, to explain options, and to give the information and self-management tools needed to gain mastery over complex conditions. In today's world, though, the majority of people facing complex health issues fall through the cracks. Some people may have personal physicians. Others may rely on regular conversations with care management nurses to keep them focused and on track. And still others may take it upon themselves to search the Web for the information and tools they need. "We can do better," said Kemper. "Ix HealthMastery Campaigns extend to millions more people new opportunities for using information and tools to better manage their care, lower their costs, and bring better health outcomes. By engaging each person, by leveraging his or her motivation for behavior change, and by delivering the information and tools needed to improve care, the Campaigns can help people gain a real sense of mastery over their complex conditions."

To see how Ix HealthMastery Campaigns can help health plans provide the information and services their members are looking for, experience an online concept demo at: www.healthwise.org/hmcampaigns.

About Healthwise

Healthwise is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better health decisions. Nearly 100 million times a year, people turn to Healthwise® information to learn how to do more for themselves, ask for the care they need, and say "no" to the care they don't need. Healthwise works with health plans, hospitals, disease management companies, and health Web sites to provide up-to-date, evidence-based information to the people they serve. To learn more about the Healthwise Information Therapy (Ix®) Solution, visit www.healthwise.org or call 1.800.706.9646.

Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.

© Copyright 2007, Healthwise, Incorporated.

9158-100807

Contact Information: Contact: Brenda Foster 208.331.6963