Healthwise Develops Online Health Information Specifically for Canadian Consumers.

Business/Technology Editors & Health/Medical Writers

BOISE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 16, 2003

Canadian health care providers and consumers may soon employ a new, evidence-based online information resource for making health decisions.

Healthwise, Incorporated, a long-standing nonprofit health information organization based in the United States, announced today that it is adapting its comprehensive Healthwise(R) Knowledgebase to meet Canadian medical standards and the needs of Canadian consumers.

"Canada and the United States are obviously two entirely different countries, and each deserves its own knowledgebase of high-quality medical information," said Donald W. Kemper, founder of Healthwise. "We are delighted to have partnered with Canadian medical experts to develop the Healthwise Knowledgebase for Canada."

The in-depth online database is currently licensed to the Province of British Columbia for its BC HealthGuide program and is now available for licensing by other provinces and organizations as well. The Healthwise Knowledgebase for Canada contains in-depth, evidence-based medical content that is easy to understand and use, helping English-speaking Canadians to make appropriate decisions regarding treatments, tests, and behaviour change at any point during their health care.

"Healthwise now has more medical reviewers from Canada than some health Web sites have overall," said Steve Schneider, MD, medical director for Healthwise. More than 50 Canadian health specialists work with Healthwise writers and editors, addressing the following issues to make sure topics are helpful to Canadian consumers:

-- Canadian prevention and treatment guidelines. For example, treatment for HIV and guidelines for mammograms are different between Canada and the United States.

-- Medication availability and brand names. For example, a medication used to reduce the symptoms of motion sickness is available under the brand name Gravol in Canada, and Dramamine in the United States.

-- Medical tests. Use of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) varies widely between Canada and the United States, for example. This information helps inform consumer expectations for such tests.

-- Canadian organizations. The Canadian Diabetes Association and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, for example, are suggested resources.

-- Cultural factors. For example, Aboriginal peoples may be mentioned as a risk category in certain diseases and conditions such as diabetes.

-- Expressions. Spelling (colour vs. color) and measurements (centimetres vs. inches) reflect common Canadian usage.

"The very detailed localization process undertaken by Healthwise helps assure that the in-depth content meets the needs of Canadians and reflects Canadian medical standards," said Lori Halls, director of innovation and sustainability, Ministry of Health Services, British Columbia (BC HealthGuide).

Healthwise actively researches the latest evidence-based medical information and updates each topic in the Healthwise Knowledgebase for Canada every two years or more frequently when warranted by changes in medical research and practise. Topics with ongoing research and rapidly changing treatments, such as diabetes and HIV, are reviewed and updated annually. Topics involving significant breaking news are updated before the next quarterly release. For example, the menopause topic was swiftly updated to include recent study results about hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Approximately 50-200 topics will be localized, or adapted to Canadian standards, and incorporated into the Knowledgebase each quarter. Healthwise anticipates all topics will be localized by mid-2004. Because of copyright and licensing issues, some content written by third-party organizations such as the U.S. National Cancer Institute will not be localized.

"Information plays a vital role in helping health care consumers make informed decisions," said Healthwise President and COO Gene Drabinski. "Healthwise is committed to providing Canadian consumers with a reliable health support tool to better manage their health and well-being."

About Healthwise

Healthwise, Incorporated, is a nonprofit organization that has been helping people make better health decisions since 1975. People make more than 30 million health care decisions every year with Healthwise handbooks, online content, and nurse call center resources. For more information, click on the Canadian flag at www.healthwise.org, or call 800/706-9646.