Cardiologist and former Medco executive, Dr. Alan Lotvin, to lead M/C Communications as President and Chief Operating Officer.

BOSTON -- Spending a day with 600 doctors plus "a voice mailbox full of ideas"

Alan Lotvin, MD has been appointed president and chief operating officer of M|C Communications, LLC, the leading U.S. provider of continuing education for physicians and other healthcare professionals, the Boston-based company announced today. M|C Communications produces the Pri-Med network of more than 140 medical conferences in 70 cities across the country, Pri-Med Online, an informational and educational website exclusively for physicians, and clinical reference publications focused on primary care.

Dr. Lotvin began his assignment as the first physician president of M|C Communications with a blank notebook and a schedule of nearly six dozen employee interviews. On taking the reins in Boston, he headed first for Melville, NY to study more than 600 physicians interacting with nearly a hundred expert speakers, exhibitors and company staffers at one of an expanding schedule of Pri-Med Updates continuing medical education meetings.

"As a partner in a large cardiology practice and division president of a multi-billion dollar healthcare company, I know how hard it is for physicians to commit time away from practice to invest in their educational development. In the case of a continuing medical education event, it's absolutely critical for us to send each doctor back to the office with insights they can use in practice tomorrow," Dr. Lotvin said.

"From my conversations with our physician attendees, we're delivering on that promise. Yet today we have tremendous opportunities to go even further. Pri-Med can be a conduit to valuable information in other areas that can also raise the level of patient care - from practice management to patient education to technology."

"I think that Pri-Med can be more of an overall knowledge resource to these physicians." In addition to his stuffed notebook, Lotvin adds that he has a "voice mailbox full of ideas" from past physician colleagues who have been calling in since his appointment became known.

"Alan has unique experience working with all the major healthcare stakeholders - patients, physicians, insurers and pharmaceutical companies," M|C Communications Founder and CEO John Mooney said. "His clinical experience and innovative style mesh perfectly with our intent to build the Pri-Med medical meetings business into one of the leading physician knowledge brands in healthcare. We devoted our first ten years to solving the problem of inadequate physician access to high quality CME. Now, with over 25% of U.S. primary care practitioners attending a Pri-Med meeting in any year, we are meeting that challenge. Having Alan on the team will enable Pri-Med to harness this tremendous network and better identify and address emerging physician needs."

Dr. Alan Lotvin, 43, has been a senior executive with Medco Health Solutions since 1997, and was appointed president of the company's Specialty Pharmacy Services division in 2003. Medco, headquartered in Franklin Lakes, NJ, is a leading provider of pharmacy benefit services. Prior to joining Medco, Dr. Lotvin was a practicing cardiologist in New Jersey, as well as an inventor of a patented heart valve implant device now in development. He is a graduate of the State University of New York Health Sciences Center in Brooklyn, and holds an advanced degree in medical informatics from Columbia University.

Boston-based M|C Communications LLC is the parent company of Pri-Med, the largest provider in the U.S. of continuing medical education programs for primary care physicians. The Pri-Med Conference & Exhibition is a national primary care conference held annually in five cities. Pri-Med Updates, a network of intensive two-day medical meetings, are offered in 70 cities across the country. The Pri-Med schedule also includes Psychiatry Updates and Pharm-Med Updates for pharmacists, and introduced Cardiology Updates this June. Other education channels include Pri-Med Online and print publications. M|C Communications established Pri-Med medical meetings in the UK and Mexico in 2004, and will expand to Germany and Japan.