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LifeMasters Introduces
Next-Generation Disease Management

AIM^SM Platform Designed to Identify and Prioritize Modifiable Risk Factors Resulting in Interventions that Focus on Individuals, Not Diseases

IRVINE, Calif. and CHICAGO, Ill. (October 13, 2003) - LifeMasters® Supported SelfCare^SM, Inc. CEO Christobel Selecky unveiled a pioneering new model for the delivery of disease management services in a speech today at the Disease Management Leadership Forum (DMLF) in Chicago, Illinois. The DMLF is the nation's premier disease management conference and exposition, hosted by The Disease Management Association of America.

A first in the industry, LifeMasters’ new Active Intervention Model^SM (AIM) uses sophisticated database technology to facilitate the delivery of individually customized, evidence-based intervention plans focusing on the specific needs of each participant across an entire population. Through the identification of each program participant’s modifiable risk-factors and cost drivers, indicated by deviations from the most up-to-date best practices and nationally based guidelines of care, AIM maximizes outcomes for each member in the most cost-effective manner possible, leading to increased ROI, improved outcomes and greater participant satisfaction.

LifeMasters has already begun to introduce AIM to its existing clients that include health plans, employers, retirement systems and government entities.

LifeMasters’ AIM model helps bridge the gaps in healthcare quality identified in several recent studies and publications that have documented that a high percentage of people with chronic conditions are not receiving evidence-based care. For example, a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine* reported that more than 75% of people with diabetes had not received an HbA1C test (which is fundamental to the effective management of the condition) according to the evidence-based recommended schedule. In a recent study on disease management conducted by Patrick Marketing, 42% of healthcare executives responding believe that their participating physicians do not practice evidence-based medicine. Ninety one percent of them felt that disease management could help address this issue.

“What’s been missing is not the knowledge or the will to provide the right care at the right time, but a platform to quickly and accurately identify who is not in adherence with the current guidelines and address those gaps in a cost-effective, scalable manner,” said Christobel Selecky, LifeMasters’ CEO. “ We’ve spent the past eighteen months doing the ‘heavy lifting’ - researching the clinical literature to identify the most current and relevant indicators, creating the protocols to incorporate all of the variables into a dynamic predictive model, building the data collection and integration engine to incorporate behavioral as well as clinical and financial factors, and developing the appropriate interventions. AIM now provides a platform that allows us to focus our efforts on those lifestyle and behavioral issues and gaps in the standard of care that will deliver the highest return on investment for our customers.”

Rather than just focusing on an individual’s chronic condition, AIM integrates his or her claims, administrative, clinical, and self-reported data and regularly assesses all of his or her healthcare and psychosocial needs. Next, AIM creates customized interventions that are continuously updated and patient-focused, not static and disease-based like traditional disease management. The AIM technology proactively and dynamically -- in real-time -- identifies each individual’s modifiable risk factors and cost drivers, using deviations from the most up to date research-based best practices and nationally recognized standards of care. By customizing the program to fit the special needs of each participant, AIM allows LifeMasters to identify members at the early stages of chronic illness and intervene before intensive treatment becomes necessary. It also ensures interventions are targeted to the right individuals at the right time for the right reasons, making the interactions much more efficient and cost-effective, yet relevant and satisfying for the program participant.

AIM also allows LifeMasters to provide physicians with even more relevant data needed for early intervention intended to reduce preventable exacerbations through participant monitoring, daily data collection, analysis against individual thresholds, and exception and trend reports. Payors realize reduced costs through fewer unnecessary office visits and emergency admissions.

* McGlynn, Asch et al, The Quality of Health Care Delivered to Adults in the US NEJM 2003; 348:2635-48

For More Information Contact:

Denise Apcar LifeMasters, Inc (650) 829-6217 pr@lifemasters.com