American Healthways' High-Risk Health Management Program Earns URAC Accreditation.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 2004

American Healthways, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMHC) today announced accreditation of its StatusOne Care Management program by URAC, one of the nation's most respected, independent health-care accrediting organizations. The two-year accreditation was granted under URAC's Case Management Organization Standards.

"Earning the URAC accreditation for our program is one more milestone in our commitment to continuously set the benchmarks in our industry," said Matt Kelliher, president, StatusOne, and executive vice president, American Healthways. "This distinction is another indication for patients, physicians and employers of the quality of our program design and delivery and reinforces American Healthways' commitment to national health-care standards."

American Healthways purchased StatusOne Health Systems in September 2003. The StatusOne Care Management program identifies those individuals at highest risk of incurring significant medical costs within the next 12 months and creates a customized, care-support system that focuses on an advanced, total-care plan across 160 disease conditions.

URAC offers the only accreditation for Case Management and requires companies to establish a process to assess, plan and implement case management interventions. URAC's Case Management accreditation focuses on the provision of individual, customized care plans that coordinate the management of each individual patient case, while its Disease Management accreditation assures a program's disease-specific focus of care, the incorporation of standard best practices and evidence-based decision support tools delivered across a large population of people with chronic disease.

"American Healthways was one of the first organizations to earn URAC Disease Management Accreditation and continues to display its leadership through a commitment to quality and accountability, not just in disease management, but in the rapidly evolving field of case management," said Garry Carneal, URAC president and CEO.

In 2002, American Healthways became the first disease management and care enhancement provider to be certified or accredited by each of the nation's leading health care accreditation bodies - URAC, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Since then, the Company has maintained certification and accreditation for its existing programs and has continued to earn certification and accreditation as it expands its product portfolio.

About American Healthways

American Healthways (AMHC) is the nation's leading and largest provider of specialized, comprehensive disease management, care enhancement and high-risk health management services proven to improve the quality of health care and lower costs. As of Dec. 18, 2003, the Company had over 1 million lives under management nationwide. 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 the 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, set forth. Consequently, actual operations and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. The important factors are 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 Aug. 31, 2003, and Part I, Item 2, of American Healthways' Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Nov. 30. 2003. American Healthways undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements.