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Hartford, Connecticut, May 8, 2001 -- ConnectiCare, Inc. a Connecticut corporation that offers health care benefits to eligible individuals enrolled in ConnectiCare's health care plans, and ProHealth Physicians, the largest group practice of primary care physicians in Connecticut, will begin to pilot the new Healinx webVisit^TM technology. The webVisit^TM is a non-urgent, structured clinical consultation between a patient and his or her established physician, with the goal of improving patient care and satisfaction, enhancing the patient-doctor relationship, and making health care more accessible to patients.

Crowded patient waiting rooms may become a sign of the past as electronic communications offer physicians and their patients a new way to quickly, confidentially, and effectively resolve routine or minor health issues through the use of e-visits. Until now, doctors needed to physically "see" their patients to diagnose the common cold or issue a prescription, often resulting in inconvenient, long office waits for patients and overbooked schedules for physicians.

The new technology will be able to link more than 36,000 members of ConnectiCare and upward of 160 doctors and their staff in ProHealth's network through Healinx^TM's webVisit^TM feature. California-based Healinx Corporation, creator of the webVisit^TM, is the leading provider of secure Internet-based, patient-physician communication.

The webVisit^TM technology moves far beyond e-mail to replace an office visit or phone consultation for routine follow-up, preventive and some non-urgent care. With all the benefits of e-mail, the webVisit^TM also adds features unavailable to e-mail users: security, clinically structured questions, workflow flexibility, and a mechanism for physician reimbursement. The webVisit^TM begins with the patient logging on to the service through either the ProHealth Physicians website [www.prohealthmd.com] or through Healinx's site [www.healinx.com]. Patients then describe their symptoms using an interactive interview that transforms the patient's communication of symptoms and problems into a complete, concise narrative for the doctor.

"Our patients are our first priority, and tools like the webVisit^TM help us to leverage our Internet strategy to maximize convenience and quality of patient care," said Jim Cox-Chapman, M.D., chief medical officer of ProHealth. "The Healinx^TM service also allows doctors to reduce administrative costs and streamline office efficiency by providing online prescribing and prescription renewals, as well as online appointment request capabilities," Cox-Chapman added.

As one of the first health plans in the country to pilot this system, ConnectiCare will reimburse ProHealth for each webVisit^TM conducted by a ProHealth physician for eligible ConnectiCare members. ConnectiCare members will be charged a modest co-payment for each webVisit^TM.

"Reimbursement is a unique and important feature of our service, which makes online communication more feasible and convenient for traditional healthcare providers," said Giovanni Colella, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Healinx. "The webVisit^TM provides an additional channel for communication and clinical care and supplies a mechanism for physician reimbursement for the time spent with patients online," Colella added.

To evaluate the benefits of the Healinx service, including the webVisit^TM, in terms of patient satisfaction and efficiency gains, ConnectiCare, ProHealth and Healinx will jointly conduct the pilot program that will run for approximately one year beginning in May 2001.

"The Healinx webVisit^TM is aligned with our goals to boost patient satisfaction and increase access to care," said Paul Bluestein, chief medical officer, ConnectiCare, Inc. "We will be evaluating patient and doctor satisfaction with the webVisit^TM to determine the value of online patient-doctor communication services. This new medical communications platform is the cutting edge of millenium medicine and ConnectiCare is proud to be among the leaders in introducing it," Bluestein added.

ConnectiCare is a Connecticut corporation that offers health plans serving approximately 260,000 members in Connecticut and western Massachusetts either directly or through its affiliate, ConnectiCare of Massachusetts, Inc. ConnectiCare has been recognized as one of the highest rated health plans by Newsweek, U.S. News and World Reports, J.D. Powers, and received accreditation with excellence by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). To learn more about ConnectiCare, click here.

ProHealth is an organization of over 80 primary care practices in Connecticut treating over 300,000 patients each year. ProHealth is actively pursuing ways in which the Internet can improve the health of its patients and the lives of its approximately 160 physicians. ProHealth strives to use new technologies to improve both the quality and convenience of care to its patients, as well as to reduce administrative costs. For more information visit www.prohealthmd.com.

Healinx helps doctors address their need to recoup income while providing efficient, secure online services to their patients. At the same time, Healinx offers patients convenience and access -- the convenience of communicating directly with their physicians at anytime from any place while reducing their exposure to rising health care costs. For more information visit www.healinx.com. 

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