DATABASE ENABLES PATIENTS TO TAKE ACTIVE ROLE IN HEALTHCARE.

First DataBank Inc. and Healthnotes(R), Inc. have signed an agreement enabling First DataBank to incorporate Healthnotes' extensive databases on complementary and alternative medicine information into their drug knowledge base products. The agreement will significantly enhance First DataBank's existing alternative therapy content, and expand coverage for both patient and professional users of information on herbal remedies, nutraceuticals and dietary supplements.

"An educated patient," said James L. Wilson, First DataBank Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, "is one who usually takes a more active role in their own healthcare. This saves time both for them and their doctors, encourages their compliance and reduces costs associated with medication errors. We believe this applies to patients uniformly, regardless of whether they're taking prescription medications or alternative medicine agents."

First DataBank has licensed three products from Healthnotes. Clinical Essentials and Safetychecker offer healthcare professionals a series of fully referenced monographs on botanical medicine, clinical nutrition, and drug-nutrient interactions and depletions. Written by pharmacists and physicians with years of clinical experience in complementary and alternative medicine, these monographs offer balanced, unbiased analyses of current research, and what that research means for today's pharmacists and their customers.

The third Healthnotes' product, called Quick!Reference, consists of concise patient-education information sheets that can be quickly produced at the point of care. These sheets, which are clinically accurate yet easy to read, reassure patients and their families when they have questions or concerns about advice they've gotten from their pharmacist or physician.

According to Schuyler W. Lininger, Jr., president and CEO of Healthnotes, "In the past few years, the volume of research surrounding complementary and alternative medicine has exploded, both in traditional and alternative medicine journals worldwide. In recent years, our interdisciplinary teams, led by physicians and pharmacists, have evaluated over 100,000 journal articles a year on clinical research of alternative therapies. Our unique mission is to create-for consumers and healthcare practitioners alike-the right tools to assess the pluses and minuses of using herbal remedies and dietary supplements."

When First DataBank has integrated the Healthnotes databases into various knowledge base products, such as the National Drug Data File(R) Plus, healthcare professionals will have much more convenient access to this information from within their own pharmacy or clinical decision-support systems. With a single-source reference tool, they will not waste time switching between different drug information sources, or interrupting their usual workflow. Healthcare system developers will also find they can connect to this complementary and alternative medicine content from their customers' workflow systems via standard drug code links, or First DataBank proprietary drug identifiers. These First DataBank products are expected to be released in the spring of 2002.

About Healthnotes, Inc.

Healthnotes, Inc. is the leading provider of scientifically validated, credible information on complementary and alternative medicine. Available in electronic form for healthcare professional and patient audiences, Healthnotes products are used by intranet and Internet sites worldwide. Founded in 1986, Healthnotes is a privately held company headquartered in Portland, Oregon. For more information, visit http://www.healthnotes.com.

About First DataBank

A wholly owned subsidiary of The Hearst Corporation, First DataBank is a leading provider of online drug, medical and nutrition information. For more than two decades, we have delivered the most comprehensive, accurate and reliable knowledge bases, powerful interactive software and clinical decision-support information to the healthcare industry. First DataBank is headquartered in San Bruno, California; and has offices in Indianapolis, Indiana; St. Louis, Missouri; and Exeter, England.

For more information, visit http://www.firstdatabank.com and http://www.healthnotes.com or call 650-588-5454.