Cogent Healthcare Inc. Selected by Health Options, Inc. for Inpatient Physician Management Program.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Jan. 15, 2001

Program Will Provide Hospitalist Services for More Than

125,000 Medicare and Commercial Members in South Florida.

Cogent Healthcare Inc., one of the nation's leading providers of inpatient care management services, has been selected by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida/Health Options, Inc., to develop and manage an inpatient care management program for more than 125,000 Medicare and commercial HMO members at ten hospitals in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.

Health Options, Inc. is the HMO subsidiary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida.

"We're very pleased to be working with Health Options to offer hospitalist services to plan members," said Michael Brouthers, President and CEO of Cogent Healthcare Inc. "At the request of the primary care physician, a hospitalist physician is on duty on a full-time basis to supervise the patient's care, treat emergencies quickly, and arrange all services. Because the hospitalist physician is available on a full-time basis, supervising the care the patient receives, he or she is available to meet with the patient and family as needed, to expedite all treatments and tests, and ensure continuity of care with the primary care physician when the patient returns home."

"We selected Cogent Healthcare because of their professional systems and the quality and experience of their physicians," said Melvyn R. Fletcher, M.D., Vice President of Care and Network Management for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida. "We believe that the hospitalist concept leads to more efficient use of hospital resources, better outcomes and improved quality of care."

The Cogent Web site address is www.cogenthealthcare.com. Cogent Healthcare Inc. is located at 23282 Mill Creek Road, No. 300, Laguna Hills, Calif., 92653; 949/699-6000.

About Cogent Healthcare Inc.:

Cogent Healthcare Inc. is a leading provider of services that improve the well being of hospitalized patients while reducing their associated costs through the creation and management of inpatient-based physician networks. Cogent Healthcare provides comprehensive programs in clinical care staffing, communication, and data management that support the hospitalist physician in the delivery of inpatient care. In May 2000, Cogent Healthcare also launched the first Internet-based continuing medical educational program for hospitalist physicians.

In addition, Cogent is developing a network of resources to enhance on management throughout the continuum of care, addressing home care, sub-acute care, disease management and end-of-life issues. Its mission is to improve care and efficiency by reducing variations in care, establishing best practices, identifying and removing barriers to efficient care, and measuring outcomes.

Cogent Healthcare Inc. is currently one of the largest inpatient care management companies, with contracts in more than 16 markets from coast to coast covering 155 hospitals with 2700 referring primary care physicians, covering more than 4,000,000 lives throughout the United States.

In addition to traditional hospitalist programs, the company has a program with Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest HMO, which has 2.7 million members in Southern California, to provide hospitalists to handle emergency care sought by their members at non-Kaiser hospitals.

What is a Hospitalist?

In the last decade, the concept of the hospitalist physician has emerged as the accepted model for inpatient care in the United States. By being available around the clock, these physicians who specialize in the care of hospitalized patients are able to attend to a patient's changing condition as it occurs rather than having care delayed until the primary care physician can arrive from his/her practice. The critical care skills of these specialists are important factors in helping today's more critically ill hospital patients get the level of care they need. Thus, hospitalists improve the quality of care patients receive and they enhance the efficiency of the care process. By delivering more efficient and timely care, the time the patient spends in the hospital may be reduced.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida:

As Florida's leading healthcare company, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida (BCBSF) is dedicated to providing caring solutions and affordable choices to more than 2.8 million members. BCBSF is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. Standard and Poor's affirmed its 'A+' financial strength and credit rating of BCBSF, based on the company's strong market position, solid earnings profile and excellent capitalization. For additional information about BCBSF, visit its Web site at www.bcbsfl.com.