GetWellNetwork(R) PatientLifeSystem(TM) Engages Hospital Patients in Care Process; Hospitals are Leveraging Innovative Solution to Transform Care Delivery and Improve Outcomes.

SAN DIEGO -- GetWellNetwork, Inc., the leading provider of interactive patient care solutions, announced today that in the year since the launch of the GetWellNetwork PatientLife:)System, client hospitals are taking full advantage of the technology to engage patients in many traditional processes that are currently manual or off-line procedures. The announcement was made at the HIMSS 2006 conference in San Diego, CA (Booth 3414).

Going far beyond revenue generation and patient entertainment, the PatientLife:)System is uniquely designed to integrate into a hospital's existing care process. This integration is possible due to the system's underlying, patent-pending technology called PatientPathway:)Architecture(TM). GetWellNetwork Patient Pathways are designed to automate and streamline many day-to-day hospital tasks - that are both clinical and non-clinical in nature.

Currently, more than eighty-five percent of GetWellNetwork clients have implemented or initiated the launch of at least one Patient Pathway as part of their PatientLife:)System deployment. Fifty percent have implemented three or more. Additionally, GetWellNetwork has reported that hospitals using Patient Pathways are experiencing utilization rates such as:

--Sixty percent of hospitalized patients are using the GetWellNetwork PatientLife:)System to provide feedback on their care and their satisfaction with their care experience.

--Eighty percent of patients are utilizing the system to complete prescribed education.

--Fifty-five percent of patients are utilizing the system to seek assistance and have more control over their care environment.

GetWellNetwork Patient Pathways Offer Hospitals Best-Practice Implementations

Each client hospital that licenses the PatientLife:)System receives a core set of Patient Pathways, including Patient Welcome, Patient Safety Education, Hand Hygiene Education, Patient Education, Smoking Cessation Education, Patient Satisfaction Feedback, and Pain Management. The pathways - which are essentially templates built around best practices - are simple for hospitals to implement. The client hospital only has to decide on the variables of the process, such as how long to wait between patient prompts or which video to show. The Patient Pathway handles the rest of the process. Patient Pathways literally invite patients - through their hospital bedside monitor - to become active participants in their own care process, while giving hospitals superior operational performance, enhanced regulatory compliance, and greater patient and caregiver satisfaction.

An Example: Patient Education Pathway

The Patient Education Pathway automatically educates patients on many topics related to their health condition, such as their diagnosis at the time of admission or prescribed medications. The Patient Education Pathway ensures that patients receive complete and consistent information throughout their care experience.

Process: The Patient Education Pathway is triggered through any standard HL7 interface (e.g., an event in a CPOE system) or directly through the GetWellNetwork Management Console. Through the patient's television screen, the patient is asked if he/she would like to watch the education video that has been prescribed. The patient has the option to accept, reject or view the video at a later time. Once the patient has viewed the video, the system asks a series of questions about the video's content and records the patient's answers in order to assess the patient's understanding of the subject matter. All of this activity is then documented in the patient's GetWellNetwork Patient Profile, which can also be included in the patient's electronic medical record (EMR).

Benefits: The system can automatically notify caregivers if the patient has not viewed the required educational video or if they have additional questions. The Patient Education Pathway also helps hospitals comply with JCAHO/CMS documentation requirements.

Case Study Highlight: Winchester Medical Center (VA) currently has the Patient Education Pathway running as part of their PatientLife:)System deployment. The caregiver prescribes the education delivery through the hospital's existing CareManager System, a third-party order entry system. After the patient views the education video and completes the assessment questions, the GetWellNetwork PatientLife:)System automatically documents the events back into the hospital's CareManager System. Within the first month of the Patient Education Pathway launch, utilization of patient education videos at Winchester Medical Center increased by nearly fifteen percent. This improvement is expected to continue as clinicians become more familiar with the process and technology.

"The Patient Education Pathway has been a helpful resource for our patients. The simple ordering procedure allows our nurses to prescribe education content to a patient through the patient's in-room television system," says Winchester Medical Center nurse, Jennifer Hardware, RN, CMSN. "Upon receiving instruction on how to operate the system, our patients are able to complete the prescribed education content, which is automatically documented in the patient's medical record. The simple format of the education videos also ensures that our patients are educated about their medical condition."

"Our client's response to the power of Patient Pathways has been incredible. We are no longer having conversations with our clients about entertainment options or simple one-way communication opportunities. We are helping our clients make a profound change in the way patients are invited into the care process - while at the same time driving enormous efficiency for our client hospitals," said Michael O'Neil, Founder and CEO of GetWellNetwork, Inc. "By coordinating the delivery of care, all the way to the patient - we are able to help hospitals close the loop on their service and quality initiatives, and ultimately improve outcomes."

View a Patient Pathway

To see a Flash presentation of a Patient Pathway in action, please visit: http://www.getwellnetwork.com/patientpathway.asp

About GetWellNetwork

GetWellNetwork(R) (HIMSS Booth # 3414) is the leading provider of interactive patient care solutions. In partnership with more than 30 thought leading hospitals and healthcare systems, the company is focused on transforming the care process into a patient-centric environment that drives an optimal quality care experience. This is accomplished through the deployment of the PatientLife:)System(TM) that turns in-room hospital monitors into an interactive experience that informs, educates and entertains. More importantly, the platform enables hospitals to achieve their vision of delivering true patient-centered care - putting powerful, integrated services at the fingertips of patients, caregivers and hospital administrators. GetWellNetwork headquarters are in Bethesda, Maryland. For more information, please call 877.MEET.GWN or visit www.getwellnetwork.com.

Editors Note: Reporters and editors on urgent deadline are asked to contact Nancy Rose Senich at 202.262.6996. GetWellNetwork respectfully requests that the spelling of the company name be presented as one word, with initial caps of the "G", "W" and "N" as used in the above release.