BEND MEMORIAL CLINIC LAUNCHES MEDICARE RESEARCH PROJECT USING TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS

The Health Buddy Program Uses Home Health Monitoring Technology to Focus on Preventative Care For Patients

Bend, OR – February 1, 2006 — Bend Memorial Clinic recently began enrollment for a new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) demonstration project. The innovative Health Buddy Program is a physician-led model of care that uses home health monitoring technology for patients who are struggling with severe chronic illness – allowing them to live, healthier, happier, longer lives and reduce Medicare spending by preventing hospitalizations.

In 2005, CMS selected several organizations including a consortium led by Health Hero Network, the American Medical Group Association, Bend Memorial Clinic and a medical group in Washington. The medical groups will implement this preventive care management program for up to 1,600 total Medicare beneficiaries with congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and/or diabetes.

“This technology and model of care empowers patients to better manage their own conditions, and gives doctors an early warning if a patient's condition is at risk of deteriorating,” said Dr. James Ritzenthaler, BMC's Medical Director. “The number of people with chronic conditions in this area and throughout the country is quickly growing and continuing to strain both the individual and the entire health care system. We are proud to be selected to participate in this new program, and look forward to supporting our patients and helping them feel better while reducing the costs to the health care system.”

The program's key technology component is the Health Buddy system from Health Hero Network. Patients will use the Health Buddy appliance in their homes to receive a daily dialogue, which includes questions about the patient's condition and vital signs, as well as coaching and information about preventive behaviors. The patient answers by simply pressing a button on the appliance. BMC doctors and care managers receive the patient's answers and vital signs through a secure website and are able to spot problems and intervene early, before patients get so sick that they need to go to the emergency room or be hospitalized.

"CMS is examining ways to address the health care support needed for the growing number of people with chronic illness in this country. The Health Buddy Program is one demonstration that uses personalized telehealth technology in an effort to help Medicare patients with severe chronic illnesses live healthier, happier, longer lives," said CMS Administrator Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D . "We will be evaluating the results carefully and look forward to the program successfully demonstrating improvement in patients' lives and health care costs.

Slated to run for three years, the Health Buddy program will invite elected Medicare patients already under the care of BMC physicians to join the program. Project coordinators and care managers will then enroll and manage the patients with the active cooperation of medical group physicians.

Bend Memorial Clinic includes over 80 physicians representing 15 branches of medicine and 30 service specialties. It is the largest multi-specialty group east of the Cascades and functions as a comprehensive referral center for physicians and communities throughout the state. The Clinic has provided primary and specialty care since 1946.

BACKGROUNDER:

About Health Hero Network
Health Hero Network develops and markets the Health Buddy® system for health improvement. The Health Buddy system serves as the interface between patients at home and care providers, facilitating patient education and monitoring of chronic conditions. The system includes monitoring technologies, clinical information databases, Internet-enabled decision support tools, health management programs and content development tools. Through increased communication, behavior modification, and prevention, the Health Buddy system improves the quality of care. Based in Mountain View, California, Health Hero Network's systems are protected by over 55 issued US patents. http://www.healthhero.com.


The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) represents medical groups, including some of the nation's largest, most prestigious integrated healthcare delivery systems. AMGA advocates for the multispecialty medical group model of healthcare delivery and for the patients served by medical groups through innovation and information sharing, benchmarking, leadership development, and continuous striving to improve patient care. The members of AMGA deliver health care to more than 50 million patients in 42 states, including 15 million capitated lives. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AMGA is the strategic partner for medical groups providing a comprehensive package of benefits, including political advocacy, educational and networking programs and publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and operations assistance. For more information, visit www.amga.org.