BTE Technologies, Inc. Enters into Agreement with Pinnacol Assurance.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

HANOVER, Md., GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. and TORONTO, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 12, 2004--

Contract Will Aid Colorado's Leading Workers Compensation Carrier

in Expediting Statewide Claims Processing

BTE Technologies (BTE), a provider of physical rehabilitation and therapy equipment and injury cost-reduction services, announced today that its employer/payer services division entered into an agreement with Pinnacol Assurance to provide a Web-based service designed to facilitate the flow of real-time information between multiple parties on a workers' compensation claim.

BTE Technologies' employer-payer services group provides workplace injury prevention and management solutions to employers and payers. Pinnacol Assurance is Colorado's oldest and largest provider of workers' compensation insurance. Formerly, Pinnacol was engaged in a contractual relationship with Hanoun Medical, Inc., a predecessor company to BTE Technologies, which was formed in January 2004 as a result of the merger between Hanoun and Baltimore Therapeutic Equipment Company (BTE).

Under the agreement, Pinnacol will utilize BTE's OscarLink web-based service, which creates efficiencies in the management of workers compensation claims among multiple parties, including healthcare providers, employers, medical case managers and claims adjusters. A subscriber-based service, OscarLink allows users to track and authorize patient referrals; submit and review medical reports electronically; and create and transmit work status reports.

OscarLink also provides a HIPAA-compliant platform for its healthcare members to protect patient privacy in submitting information on workers compensation claims.

Robert Stoner, vice president of BTE Technologies' employer-payer services division, commented on the new Pinnacol agreement: "We believe this relationship will present many opportunities for enhancing efficiencies among payers and providers. With OscarLink, the referral and authorization process is automated, eliminating much of the time wasted through traditional telephone and fax channels. The relationship will expand OscarLink's subscriber base and afford Pinnacol's customers a convenient method to track the status of employee claims. We are very pleased to contract with Pinnacol as they are the largest and best known workers compensation carrier in the Colorado marketplace."

Pinnacol's vice president of strategic operations group, Kimberly Griffiths, added: "The OscarLink service is beneficial to our claim management processes in that we are better able to track and manage workers compensation claims on behalf of policy holders. OscarLink can save time by expediting the authorization process."

Pinnacol Assurance is Colorado's largest and oldest provider of workers' compensation insurance with approximately 53 percent of the market. The company provides competitively priced, assured coverage, immediate attention to claims, a highly qualified network of SelectNet medical providers, and proactive safety programs to more than 57,000 Colorado businesses. Pinnacol Assurance's policyholders represent many of Colorado's industries, including construction, manufacturing, high-tech, transportation, and agriculture.

BTE Technologies, Inc. offers technology-based physical and occupational therapy and rehabilitation software, equipment, and services for the healthcare industry through its products group. The company's employer payer services group focuses on the provision of employer services and solutions for the workers compensation industry.