American Healthways, Center for Information Therapy to Jointly Develop Ix Best Practices.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Research Agenda to Advance the Practice and Science of Information Therapy to Improve and Support Patient Health-Care Decisions

As part of its quest to incorporate innovative health and behavior change approaches into the health-care system, American Healthways, Inc., today announced a three-year agreement with Washington, D.C.-based Center for Information Therapy (CIT), Inc., to jointly research and develop the most effective ways to improve population care and disease management using the principles of information therapy. Information therapy, Ix(R), is based on a new model of care that puts patients in control of their health care by providing them with decision-support tools and targeted prescriptions for information.

"With prescribed information, patients can become full partners with their doctors in making wise medical decisions, in avoiding medical mistakes and in directing medical dollars to treatments that improve their health," said CIT Executive Director Joshua Seidman, Ph.D. "Our agreement with American Healthways is among the first of its kind for our newly independent organization, and we are excited to work with them to put information therapy at the center of a true paradigm shift in our health-care delivery system."

Information therapy is the timely prescription and availability of evidence-based health information to meet individuals' specific needs to support sound decision making or behavior change. American Healthways and CIT are embarking on two specific research projects:

1.) Ix Persistency: Determine and develop methods for assessing appropriate Ix dosage levels to deliver the right message at the right time in the right amount and in the right way for maximum effectiveness.

2.) Ix Best Practices: Develop and test Ix best practices to improve medical decision-making, chronic disease self-management and health behaviors of individuals.

According to CIT, Ix responds directly to the four main drivers of change in health care today:

--The new consumer, demanding information, control and service.

--The science of evidence-based medicine.

--The new technology connecting people anywhere, anytime to information.

--The focus on quality to reduce medical mistakes and allow comparative performance measurement.

The research and development agreement with CIT is the latest in a series of strategic relationships entered into by American Healthways and is directly linked to its work to bring together the leading thinkers in health system and behavior change to develop unique solutions to the challenges facing today's health-care providers and consumers. American Healthways' work with CIT will complement and enhance solutions developed through its recently announced strategic relationships with Healthwise and Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc. and its founders Drs. James O. and Janice Prochaska.

CIT, originally created as a division of Healthwise and guided by an independent Information Therapy Commission, last month announced plans to become independent and more keenly focus its efforts to develop the concept of information therapy into the foundation for a new patient-centered health-care system. The CIT also has a new IxAction Alliance membership program to advance the Ix movement through a focus on four priority areas: research, communications, policy and underserved populations.

Healthways President and CEO, Ben R. Leedle, Jr., said, "American Healthways has always been a leader when it comes to innovative approaches to health care and the creation of standards and metrics to measure the effectiveness of those new solutions. Dr. Seidman and the Center for Information Therapy are definitely breaking new ground, and we're excited about the important work we'll be doing with them."

Through its collaboration with Healthwise, American Healthways is embarking on a Virtual Health Coach project to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of information therapy interventions to help people better self-manage their conditions and improve their health. The Virtual Health Coach will reflect the integration of expertise in a diverse set of disciplines, including information therapy and next-stage behavior change interventions. The programs, interventions and assessments developed in conjunction with CIT, Healthwise and the Prochaskas will be applied across the company's whole-population product suite.

About the Center for Information Therapy

The Center for Information Therapy, Inc., is dedicated to advancing the science and practice of information therapy (Ix) through its IxAction Alliance membership program, the annual Ix conference, and collaborative research. For more information, visit www.informationtherapy.org/.

About American Healthways

American Healthways, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMHC) is the nation's leading and largest provider of disease management, care enhancement and high-risk health management services proven to improve the quality of health care and lower costs. As of Aug. 31, 2005, the company had nearly 1.9 million lives under management worldwide. For more information visit www.americanhealthways.com.

Safe Harbor Provisions

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. In order for American Healthways to utilize the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, investors are hereby cautioned that these statements may be affected by the important factors, among others, included in the discussion in Part I, Item 1, and Part II, Item 7, of American Healthways' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2004, and Part I, Item 2 of American Healthways' Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Aug. 31, 2005. Consequently, actual operations and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. American Healthways undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements.