Cogent Healthcare Partners With Aventis Pharmaceuticals on Outcomes Study to Help Prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism, a Leading Cause of Death in Hospitals.

Health/Medical Writers

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 4, 2002

Study Is One of the First to Evaluate Impact of

Multi-Center Hospitalist System on Patient Outcomes

Cogent Healthcare, Inc., one of the nation's leading providers of inpatient management services, has instituted a partnership with Aventis Pharmaceuticals to study the effectiveness of educating physicians about the risk and appropriate prophylaxis of deep vein thrombosis. The educational information will be built upon actual data and clinician performance in Cogent Healthcare's hospitalist system.

The outcomes enhancement research project is part of Cogent Healthcare's commitment to pursue initiatives that enhance the performance of hospitalist services and provide useful educational tools for its clinical teams.

"This program is aligned with Cogent's vision to improve medical outcomes and safety for hospitalized patients," said Cogent Healthcare Vice President of Physician Education Michael Rovzar, M.D. "The increasing role of hospitalist services in identifying practical ways to prevent at-risk patients from developing deep vein thrombosis -- dangerous blood clots in the legs that can lead to death -- will educate all healthcare workers who come in contact with this group, and will contribute to improved patient care and quality outcomes."

Dr. Rovzar will work with Carol Woodruff, R.N., director of Outcomes Research for Cogent Healthcare, on this and other projects related to patient outcomes and clinician education. The study will be conducted at 12 hospitals across six Cogent markets, including Texas, New Mexico, Utah, California, and Florida. The project, anticipated to last through August 2003, will collect baseline data to profile current practice and incorporate the findings into a relevant educational message. The message will be delivered via "academic detailing," which uses data and dialogue versus traditional one-directional continuing medical education. Re-measurement will take place to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, and the results will be publicized.

Thromboembolic events kill more people than AIDS, breast cancer and highway fatalities combined. Deep vein thrombosis is often linked to pulmonary embolism because in more than 90% of cases of pulmonary embolism, the thrombosis originates in the deep veins of the legs. It has also been noted that pulmonary embolism may be the number one preventable cause of death in hospitalized patients. Deep vein thrombosis strikes approximately two million Americans every year, yet only one third of hospitalized patients with multiple risk factors for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism received preventative (or "prophylactic") treatment for their underlying symptoms.

The American College of Chest Physicians' (ACCP) consensus guidelines, which stratify patients into risk groups and identify successful prevention strategies, will serve as the basis for the educational message.

The short-term goal of the Cogent project is to increase the use of deep vein thrombosis prevention strategies in selected groups, and the long-term goal is to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with venous thromboembolism and to reduce the cost of managing these complications. The project, along with continuing medical education and mentoring programs, reflects Cogent's commitment to educating hospitalist physicians and finding best practices.

The Cogent model of inpatient care management has at its hub experienced physicians who specialize in the care of hospitalized patients and who are available in the hospital 24 hours a day to attend to the changing needs of the patient. These hospitalist physicians are supported by clinical care coordinators, experienced nurses who manage the administrative aspects of care so that the physicians can focus on clinical care. Cogent also provides "best practice" guidelines for the most common hospital diagnosis, audits to determine how well the guidelines were followed, automated communication systems to keep all members of the care team informed, including the primary care physician who will resume care of the patient when they leave the hospital, and information systems to record data and measure results.

For more information about Cogent Healthcare, contact Bill Behnke, 949.399.6038.

About Aventis Pharmaceuticals:

Aventis (NYSE:AVE) is dedicated to improving life by treating and preventing human disease through the discovery and development of innovative pharmaceutical products. Aventis focuses on prescription drugs for important therapeutic areas such as oncology, cardiology, diabetes and respiratory disorders as well as on human vaccines. In 2001, Aventis generated sales of 17.7 billion euros, invested approximately 3 billion euros in research and development, and employed approximately 75,000 people in its core business. Aventis corporate headquarters are located in Strasbourg, France. For more information, please visit: www.aventis.com.

About Cogent Healthcare, Inc.:

Cogent Healthcare, Inc. (www.cogenthealthcare.com) 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. Its vision is to improve care and efficiency by reducing variations in care, establishing best practices, identifying and removing barriers to efficient care, and measuring outcomes. To this end, the company provides comprehensive programs in clinical care staffing, communication, and data management that support the hospitalist physician in the delivery of inpatient care.

Cogent Healthcare's programs are currently in 10 major markets throughout the United States. The company has contracts with more than 65 facilities including 155 hospitals with 1,300 referring primary care physicians, covering more than 2,000,000 lives. Cogent clients include most of the nation's largest health plans such as United Healthcare, BlueCross/BlueShield, and Kaiser Permanente, plus leading hospitals and hospital systems such as Intermountain Healthcare in Utah, Baptist Health Systems in Florida and Texas, North Broward Medical Center in Pompano Beach, Florida, Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, Florida, Coral Springs Medical Center in Coral Springs, Florida, and St. Vincent's Medical Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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 its members at non-Kaiser hospitals.

More than two years ago, Cogent Healthcare also launched the first Internet-based continuing medical educational program for hospitalist physicians. Its CME programs for physicians, nurses and pharmacists can be accessed at the company's website, www.cogenthealthcare.com.