Center for Information Therapy Announces Plans for Independence and New Commission Members.

PARK CITY, Utah -- The Center for Information Therapy (CIT) today announced its intention to become independent in early 2006. The CIT has been operating as a division of Healthwise, a nonprofit leader in consumer health information. A new commission/board for the CIT was also announced today, during the final day of the 4th annual Information Therapy conference in Park City, UT.

The chair of the Information Therapy (Ix(R)) Commission is Paul Wallace, MD, Executive Director, Care Management Institute, Kaiser Permanente. The other commission members announced at the conference include:

--Susan Edgman-Levitan, PA, Executive Director, John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation, Massachusetts General Hospital 

--James L. Field, Executive Director, The Advisory Board Company

--Alan Greene, MD, FAAP, Chief Medical Officer, A.D.A.M.

--James F. Hereford, Executive Vice President, Strategic Services & Quality, Group Health Cooperative 

--Jessie Gruman, PhD, President and Founding Executive Director, Center for the Advancement of Health

--Donald W. Kemper, MPH, Founder and CEO, Healthwise; Founding Chair, Information Therapy Commission

--Albert G. Mulley, Jr., MD, MPP, Chief, General Medicine Division, Massachusetts General Hospital

--Annette M. O'Connor, RN, MScN, PhD, Canada Research Chair in Health Care Consumer Decision Support; Professor, University of Ottawa 

--Margaret E. O'Kane, President, National Committee for Quality Assurance 

--John W. Rowe, MD, Chairman & CEO, Aetna

--Andrew Webber, President & CEO, National Business Coalition on Health

--Gale Wilson-Steele, CEO and Founder, MedSeek

"It is clear to me that there is a rapidly accelerating opportunity to robustly support people -- be they consumers, members, or patients -- with accurate and personally relevant information to guide health choices and decisions," said Wallace. "The Center is positioned to be a leader and a trusted source in this area of need, and it is my pleasure and privilege to share in both the leadership and learning going forward."

The commission is composed of health care leaders from the health plan, business, academic, and nonprofit communities who are dedicated to the CIT mission to advance the art and science of prescribing information to improve the quality and efficiency of health care delivery.

The CIT has been incorporated as a nonprofit organization and has an application for tax exemption pending with the IRS.

4th Annual Information Therapy Conference

The Information Therapy conference, held yearly since 2002, included an audience of more than 200 thought leaders from health plans, disease management organizations, and information therapy solutions providers, as well as representatives from physician, consumer advocacy, and academic organizations.

This year's conference focused on the impact that information therapy has on consumers' medical decision making. Attendees participated in information therapy sessions that included:

--Interventions that enrich consumers' care experiences, improve quality, and save costs.

--Solutions to integration challenges in multiple delivery systems.

--Demonstrations of Ix technology.

"Each year, the Ix conference brings together the nation's most innovative thinkers to create strategies for transforming consumer decision making," said Joshua Seidman, PhD, Executive Director of the Center for Information Therapy. "This year, however, the level of Ix application implementation discussion was orders of magnitude greater than in the past."

Information therapy is the timely prescription and availability of evidence-based health information to meet individuals' specific needs and support sound decision making. Research suggests that Ix-focused interventions can improve quality, cost-effectiveness, and patients' overall care experiences.

For more information on the Center for Information Therapy, their membership program, the IxAction Alliance, and the 2005 Information Therapy Conference, visit www.informationtherapy.org or call 202-266-7233.

About the Center for Information Therapy

The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Information Therapy (CIT) is developing the information therapy concept into the foundation for a new patient-centered health care system. www.informationtherapy.org