Sep 9, 2003 06:30 ET

Diabetes Care Moves Online Break-Through Service Allows Patients and Employers to Save Time and Money

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- ConnectiCare and Medem today announced the launch of a new service that will, for the first time, allow insured patients with diabetes to send their glucose readings to their own doctors securely via the Internet. This innovative new service will allow patients to save time and money, and keep employees productive and on the job, while compensating physicians for their time providing care online. The service is being made available first through ProHealth Physicians, a preeminent primary care physician group with over 150 physicians in more than 70 locations across Connecticut.


"Patients with diabetes typically have their blood sugar evaluated every 3-6 months at the time of their office visits," noted Paul Bluestein, MD, Senior Vice-President and Chief Medical Officer for ConnectiCare. "There is nothing wrong with these periodic visits, but giving doctors the ability to evaluate their patient's blood sugar control more frequently should improve the quality of care, as well as the outcomes. With this new service, patients can visit their physicians, just as they do now, whenever there is a need for in-person care, but, in addition, glucose readings can be sent securely, and more frequently, online. This is a logical next step in the evolution of disease management and the integration of the Internet into the routine practice of medicine. This service can mitigate inconvenience and the loss of patient time, reduce lost patient income from absenteeism, and enhance employee productivity. While ConnectiCare does not cover all patient-physician e-mail correspondence, ProHealth Physicians who provide these specific online diabetes services will be compensated for their time."


"We are very excited to be piloting this new service to our patients who live with diabetes," explained Jonathan Rosen, M.D., Medical Director of ProHealth's research division. "We are focused on customer service and quality care. This online diabetes pilot will allow us to study potential advances in both."


Scott Hunt, the Executive Director of The Endocrine Society, remarked, "This is a big step forward in active, convenient and cost effective monitoring of the Diabetic patient. We commend Medem and ConnectiCare for their leadership."


According to Edward Fotsch, MD, CEO of Medem, "The network has provided secure patient-physician email and fee-based Online Consultations for over a year. Our work with The Endocrine Society sharpened our focus on diabetes care, and our partnership with ConnectiCare and ProHealth has made this new service a reality. This is the first in a series of disease management and compliance services, targeted at improving care quality and efficiency, to be made available for patients and physicians via the Medem network."


The roll out of the new diabetes service has also been designed to look for improvements in glucose control of participating patients, including measurements of their hemoglobin A1C, a commonly used measure of diabetes control. Expectations are that more convenient diabetes care, and more efficient physician access, may lead to clinical improvements, in addition to the financial and productivity savings for patients and employers.


About ConnectiCare


ConnectiCare is an independent Connecticut-based managed care company serving approximately 280,000 members through its affiliates, ConnectiCare, Inc., ConnectiCare of Massachusetts, Inc., and ConnectiCare Insurance Company, Inc. ConnectiCare, Inc. holds an "Excellent" Accreditation rating from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for its commercial employer group plan. For more information on ConnectiCare visit www.connecticare.com.
About ProHealth Physicians


ProHealth Physicians is the largest primary care physician group practice in Connecticut, and includes over 150 internal medicine, pediatric and family practice physicians in more than 70 locations throughout Hartford, New Haven, Middlesex, Tolland and Litchfield counties. The company, which serves the medical needs of over 320,000 of the state's residents, has its central operations based in Farmington, Connecticut.


ProHealth Physicians was formed in 1997 to provide primary care physicians with a unified voice to represent the needs of patients. The company provides support to doctors by providing practice management benefits that help to maintain focus on patient care while offering business solutions that improve practice productivity and profitability. In addition, ProHealth Physicians has developed and owns medical ancillary services, including its own laboratory, imaging center, and bone densitometry capabilities.


For more information on ProHealth Physicians, log onto www.prohealthmd.com.
About The Endocrine Society


The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest, largest, and most active organization devoted to research on hormones, and the clinical practice of endocrinology. Endocrinologists are specially trained doctors who diagnose, treat and conduct basic and clinical research on complex hormonal disorders such as diabetes, thyroid disease, osteoporosis, obesity, hypertension, cholesterol and reproductive disorders. Today, The Endocrine Society's membership consists of over 11,000 scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students, in more than 80 countries. Together, these members represent all basic, applied, and clinical interests in endocrinology. The Endocrine Society is based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. To learn more about the Society, and the field of endocrinology, visit the Society's web site at www.endo-society.org.
About Medem


Medem has created a new standard of care with the nation's premier physician-patient communications network, offering patient savings and physician revenue through secure HIPAA compliant email services. Currently, 90,000 physicians on the Medem Network benefit from access to the Online Consultation secure patient e-mail service, a customizable practice Web site, and trusted and award winning clinical content from America's leading medical societies. All services of the Medem Network adhere to the eRisk guidelines for physician-patient communication on the Internet, developed by a consortium of the nation's largest medical malpractice liability carriers, medical societies and state boards.


Medem is based in San Francisco and was incorporated in 1999 by the nation's medical societies lead by American Academy of Ophthalmology; the American Academy of Pediatrics; the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology; the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; the American Medical Association; the American Psychiatric Association; and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Medem now has 46 partner societies, whose membership includes more than two-thirds of American physicians.


For more information about Medem, and a full list of medical societies that participate in the Medem Network, visit the company's Web site at www.medem.com.
Source: Medem

CONTACT: Edward Fotsch, MD, CEO of Medem Inc, +1-415-644-3800, or
Ed.Fotsch@medem.com; or Paul Bluestein, MD, SVP/CMO, of ConnectiCare, or
pbluestein@ConnectiCare.com


Web site: http://www.connecticare.com/


Web site: http://www.medem.com/

My doctor uses this.
It's been a fantastic tool.



Always eat your veggies first!