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MedSeek and Primetime Medical Software Partner to Provide eVisits to Henry Ford Hospital Systems

Solvang, CA — August 11, 2006

Patients Go Online to Consult with Henry Ford Health System Physicians Using MEDSEEK’s eVisit powered by the Instant Medical History interview engine.

MEDSEEK, a leading innovator of enterprise eHealth portals, announced today that Henry Ford Health System is their first client to launch eVisit, a patient friendly, web-based system for conducting virtual consultations with physicians. Henry Ford is launching the self-service consultations through their MyHealth portal on henryford.com, one of the largest patient portals in the country, where 50,000 patients go online to view customized health information, obtain lab test results and renew prescriptions. The eVisit service offers convenient and cost effective Internet access to healthcare by allowing Henry Ford patients to describe their non-urgent health and medical issues to their caregivers and receive instructions for treatment via the Web.

Henry Ford’s Harbortown, Southland and Novi primary care physicians are launching the new service. The eVisit is useful for all types of concerns, acute and chronic, and addresses persistent conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and depression, as well as onsets of a problem such as headache or stomach pain. eVisit is expected to improve the quality of clinical outcomes as well as patient and physician satisfaction and, if successful, will be implemented for all Henry Ford patients next year.

Pam Landis, Henry Ford’s director of Web Services, is confident about the future of eVisits. "We always work to gain experience and get technology in place so when the world changes, Henry Ford is ready and ahead of the curve," she says. "We plan on enrolling 100,000 patients in eVisits by the end of 2007."

The eVisit begins when an enrolled patient logs into his or her secure MyHealth account and selects a non-urgent problem to report to their physician. A series of targeted questions survey the essential information, much as a physician would during a live office visit, and the patient’s responses are sent securely to the physician’s message center. The physician responds with a course of action or schedules an office appointment. For Henry Ford Health Alliance Plan members eVisits are free; non-members pay $20.

"Using the eVisit, Henry Ford physicians can stay in closer contact with their patients and make more frequent adjustments in their treatment regimen to achieve clinical goals," says Bruce Muma, M.D., Henry Ford’s Northern Region medical director and a consultant on the project. "That will result in better health care."

Peter Kuhn, MEDSEEK’s president, agrees. "The transformation of healthcare will depend on the use of technology to provide the access, efficiency and effectiveness that improves the quality of care. A progressive organization such as the Henry Ford Health System leads this change by promoting advances in their own healthcare delivery which drives the adoption of technology for others across the nation."

About Henry Ford Health System

Henry Ford Health System is one of the nation’s largest integrated delivery systems, comprising a 903-bed academic medical and research center, 6 suburban hospitals, more than 70 ambulatory care centers, Michigan’s largest insurance provider, an 800 member medical group, two nursing homes, the state’s largest hospice and a home health care division. For more information, visit https://www.henryford.com For journalists, a demo of eVisits can be done from any computer. Send an email to cconway1@hfhs.org for more information, or to arrange interviews.

About MEDSEEK

Solvang, Calif.-based MEDSEEK provides healthcare organizations with online portal management technology for more efficient communication and interaction among institutions, caregivers and patients. MEDSEEK’s comprehensive software platform, PortalMaker E, developed specifically for healthcare and the web, creates the infrastructure for more powerful internet, intranet, portal and mobile solutions. With a library of over 140 proven application interfaces, MEDSEEK also provides clinical integration, leveraging existing health information systems (HIS) applications to function as the central viewpoint for all patient data. MEDSEEK, which has been recognized on Deloitte & Touche’s Los Angeles Technology Fast 50 list for four consecutive years, has more than 500 installed hospital clients, including Henry Ford Health System, Advocate Health, Cardinal Health System, Pediatrix Medical Group and the Cleveland Clinic. MEDSEEK also maintains offices in Alabama and Mississippi. For more, visit www.medseek.com or call 888-MEDSEEK.

Media Contact:
Jodi Amendola
Amendola Communications for MEDSEEK
480.664.8412
jamendola@ACmarketingPR.com