Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Managing Post-Hospital Care to Minimize Medicare Readmissions

Manasquan, N.J., USA, November 2, 2006 – Tightening gaps in healthcare transitions for Medicare beneficiaries -- with an emphasis on patient self-management -- has the potential to reduce this population’s costly hospital stays and readmissions, freeing up hospital beds for other patients. According to the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (FAHRQ), the bill for hospital inpatient care of Medicare beneficiaries totaled roughly $327 billion in 2003. For older individuals with complex healthcare needs, managing care transitions – especially in the areas of medication compliance, physician follow-up and medical recordkeeping -- can trim hospital costs and readmission rates while enhancing quality of care and outcomes for these individuals.

To present cost-saving strategies for bridging the post-hospitalization care gap for Medicare beneficiaries, the Healthcare Intelligence Network (HIN) is sponsoring “Managing Transitions to Care for Medicare Patients to Avoid Costly Inpatient Admissions,” an interactive audio conference on November 30, 2006 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time. Participants in the 90-minute audio conference will learn how to identify older patients at risk for complicated care transitions and will be introduced to the critical roles played by transition coaches, case managers, physicians and the patients themselves during the post-hospitalization period. For more information, please visit the HIN site.

“By examining prior utilization data, diagnoses and the patients’ ability to perform simple tasks, healthcare organizations can pinpoint older patients who would benefit from post-hospitalization planning,” said Melanie Matthews, HIN executive vice president and chief operating officer. “A comprehensive follow-up care plan can then be crafted to improve the quality of care transitions for these patients.”

During this 90-minute audio conference, Danielle Butin, director of health services at Oxford Health Plans, a United Healthcare Company, and Greg Lehman, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of INSPIRIS, will describe how their organizations are coordinating the care of Medicare patients as they transition through the healthcare system to minimize costly episodes of care by employing the following strategies:

• Lowering re-admission rates by managing the post-hospital transition period;
• Managing the doctor-to-doctor transition;
• Developing effective targeting strategies that can be used to identify those patients who are at greatest risk for experiencing complicated care transitions;
• Creating a "medical home" that can aid in managing transitions; and
• Understanding and maximizing the role of health coaches, patient navigators and case managers in care transitions.

To register and obtain additional details about the audio conference, please visit the HIN site.

The 90-minute live audio conference, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Eastern time on November 30, 2006, includes a 30-minute question-and-answer period for participants. A recorded version on CD-ROM with a printed transcript will be available in mid-December, and an “On-Demand” audio conference re-broadcast can be accessed beginning December 4, 2006.

This audio conference has been designed to address the interests of CEOs, medical directors, disease management directors, managers and coordinators, health plan executives, care management nurses, business development executives and strategic planning directors.

About the Healthcare Intelligence Network – HIN is the premier advisory service for executives seeking high-quality strategic information on the business of healthcare. For more information, contact the Healthcare Intelligence Network, PO Box 1442, Wall Township, NJ 07719-1442, (888) 446-3530, fax (732) 292-3073, e-mail info@hin.com, or visit http://www.hin.com.

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Contact: Patricia Donovan
Voice: (888) 446-3530
Fax: (732) 292-3073
E-mail: pdonovan@hin.com
Web site: www.hin.com