Texas Program Paves Way for Improved Healthcare Nationwide for Chronic Illnesses; Texas Association of Community Health Centers and FG SQUARED Partner to Deliver E-Learning Courses.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers/High-Tech Writers

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 2003

Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC) and FG SQUARED today announced the completion of a new e-Learning program designed to improve the quality and lower the cost of healthcare for chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, depression and asthma.

The program will be deployed first at the state level in Texas, followed by a national rollout.

Nearly 125 million people in the United States live with some kind of chronic condition, with the direct cost of care totaling $510 billion annually. A significant portion of the cost is the result of patients using the emergency room as their "clinic" and not proactively managing their illnesses.

"The current chronic care system is not optimally effective," said Jose Camacho, TACHC executive director and general counsel. "Simply throwing money at the problem is not going to fix it. We need to start at the root -- the system needs to change -- and this e-Learning program will help catalyze this change."

The courses are based on a chronic care model developed by the U.S. Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). The care model is designed to enable providers, including physicians, nurses and administrators, to employ best practices for management and treatment of chronic illnesses. In addition, the program emphasizes patient involvement and self-management goals.

The e-Learning program will help significantly reduce the cost of training and will be made available to all federally qualified community health centers and other health care providers.

"This e-Learning program should really help the sustainability and spread of the chronic care model," said Jason Fellman, president of FG SQUARED. "The increased effectiveness and decreased costs that result will benefit everyone from patients to policy makers."

The first courses being deployed are for diabetes, asthma and depression. Plans for additional courses are already being developed. To view images from the e-Learning courses, please visit www.fg2.com/ChronicCare.

About FG SQUARED

FG SQUARED is an Integrated Marketing Communications firm, specializing in clients who market sophisticated, complex or large-scale products and services. Based in Austin, Texas, clients include Shell, Hitachi America / HHTA, Hewlett Packard, USFilter, Texas Association of Community Health Centers, Tokyo Electron, AMD, Canon and Grande Communications. For more information visit www.fg2.com.

About TACHC

The Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC) is a non-profit organization that serves as the primary care association (PCA) for the state of Texas. TACHC's members include federally qualified health centers in the state, as well as look-alike clinics. The primary goal of TACHC is to provide a variety of services to its members: TACHC provides advocacy for the Centers at the state and national level, assists with grant writing, pharmacy and lab contracts, recruitment and retention programs, and provides other technical assistance as needed. TACHC is dedicated to providing essential support to these Centers which are serving as the primary health care providers for Texans who are most in need.