BeWell Mobile Cellphone Software Wins National Award for Healthcare Innovation.

SAN FRANCISCO -- BeWell Mobile Technology, which provides patient engagement software for the healthcare industry, has won the prestigious ABBY, awarded annually to organizations that demonstrate dramatic improvements in the way healthcare is delivered.

BeWell (www.bewellmobile.com) was cited by the Adaptive Business Leaders Organization (ABL) for its innovative use of cellphone technology to manage chronic diseases and to provide patient outreach communication and medical research support.

"More than simply transmitting data between provider and patient," said Dr. Peter Boland, BeWell business development director, "we have created innovative software that takes advantage of the increasing availability and usage of cellphones as the core communications device across nearly all population demographics.

"The ABBY validates that our patient engagement software gets patients more involved in managing their care. Putting these applications on common cellphones that most patients are already using is the key," he said.

In a pilot study with the San Mateo (CA) Medical Center, BeWell is demonstrating how asthma-suffering teenagers can control their chronic care conditions through cellphone technology and avoid emergency room (ER) visits. To date, patients and their families have been successful in utilizing cellphones for monitoring and reporting their symptoms and taking medication in compliance with prescribed action plans. There have been no reported ER visits since the program's inception, a dramatic departure from the norm of 25 hospitalizations per 10,000 children aged 0-14 for asthma-related illness.

San Francisco-based BeWell is also supporting a five-year physical activity measurement study conducted by Barbara Sternfeld, PhD, senior scientist at Kaiser Permanente's Division of Research. The study is funded by the National Cancer Institute, a component of the National Institutes of Health.

BeWell Mobile, founded in 2004, provides a technology platform that combines flexibility, anytime-anywhere availability and cost-effectiveness to patients and for those who treat them. Employing cellphones, BeWell collects relevant, real-time data from patients, allowing healthcare providers to track individual patients' progress and determine if personal intervention is required. Patients also have access to information that helps them stay in touch with their goals and knowledgeable about their regimen.

The ABL, founded in 1983, conducts confidential, monthly Round Tables for healthcare services, life science and technology company CEOs. BeWell was nominated for the ABBY by GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK).