Consumer Health Interactive Launches Online Self-Care Centers.

Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BW HealthWire)--March 6, 2001

Diabetes in the United States has jumped by 41 percent over the last decade, afflicting 16 million people and reaching epidemic status. Asthma rates have nearly doubled in the last two decades. The dramatic jump in incidence of these two noninfectious diseases has health experts and the public seeking information to help them control these life-threatening conditions. In response to this demand, Consumer Health Interactive (CHI) launched the first two of a network of "self-care centers" on diabetes and asthma that will provide the latest news, research and treatments on these diseases, as well as related features and interactive tools.

The self-care centers feature stories and tools aimed at consumers, whether they are newly diagnosed or caring for children with diabetes or asthma. The centers provide ongoing stories on how to recognize symptoms, research and treatments for diabetes and asthma, and links to national clinical guidelines and helpful resources. Some of the original articles featured include "Asthma, Sports, and Your Child" and "Depression and Diabetes."

The new asthma and diabetes centers, which have already enjoyed considerable traffic since their recent launch, can be found on the e-health portals of the following CHI clients: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (www.ahealthyme.com), Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (http://blueprint.bluecrossmn.com), AdvancePCS (www.buildingbetterhealth.com) and Lifeguard, Inc. (www.mylifeguardforhealth.com). Preliminary data show that diabetes traffic on the aforementioned sites has already increased 151 percent, and asthma traffic has jumped a full 237 percent.

Dan Segedin, president and chief executive officer of Consumer Health Interactive, says that the self-care centers build on CHI's strong foundation of trustworthy, consumer-friendly health and wellness information. "The new centers provide users with meaningful, personalized interaction and condition-specific content that will be integrated with health plan programs and resources," Segedin said. "As consumers take a more active role in their healthcare management, such Web-based communities will play a critical part in a healthcare organization's efforts to engage its members." CHI will link this content to plan-sponsored health management programs, online directories and pharmacies and claims information.

About CHI

Consumer Health Interactive (www.consumerhi.com) is a leading developer of a new breed of health care Web sites called e-health portals. These portals integrate information on specific services for health plans with engaging, clinically reviewed content, e-commerce options and a broad range of other services, including disease management program support, personalized health records and e-mail newsletters.

Providing both private label and co-branded sites, CHI specifically designed its products and services to meet the operational and marketing needs of healthcare organizations, employers and other sponsors of health benefit programs. CHI is located at 539 Bryant Street, Suite 200; San Francisco, CA 94107; phone: [phone].