Human Resources: Cardium Health Positions Itself to the Forefront of Healthcare Trends

Farmington, CT June 2005 - A convergence of explosive growth in the cost of healthcare, increasing prevalence of chronic disease, and an aging workforce has created a perfect trifecta that is transforming employer-sponsored healthcare. As one of the first companies to bring the benefits of disease management to self-insured employers nearly nine years ago, Cardium Health is once again positioned to lead the way in bringing solutions to these healthcare challenges to the employer market.

In 2004, employers saw the lowest increase in healthcare benefit costs in five years.i For the 12 months ended in March 2005, health insurance costs per hour worked were up just 7.5% compared to the mid-2002 high of 11.4%.ii But while the rate of increase is a welcome reprieve for employers, it masks the fact that expenses have not been reduced but merely cost-shifted to employees through higher co-pays and more restrictive benefit plans.

Alternatively, new solutions offer real opportunity for long-term cost containment. Disease management and wellness initiatives are quickly being embraced by employers as ways to control rising healthcare costs while at the same time providing employees with the support they need to succeed in the emerging environment of consumer-driven healthcare (CDHC).

Cardium Health is actively pursuing strategies to help employers realize the benefits of these solutions to improve the overall health of their populations and reduce costs for plan sponsors and members. The company offers disease management programs for the most prevalent chronic conditions, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease and respiratory disease; prevention programs for back pain management, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and tobacco cessation; and wellness and lifestyle services. Additionally, the Company provides consulting services for employers and other benefit plan sponsors to design the best mix of healthcare benefit programs and services for their populations.

Says Daniel Cave, Cardium Health President and CEO, “Employers are enthusiastically embracing disease management and wellness as ways to encourage employees to use their medical dollars most appropriately. But for consumer-driven healthcare initiatives to succeed, consumers need to be better informed. At Cardium Health, we recognize that information without understanding is just data. People need to be given the tools, information and encouragement necessary to allow them to make good decisions. This is why from the very beginning, we have focused on education and motivation to help people better understand and manage their conditions, which in turn allows them to become more informed healthcare consumers.”

The Cardium Health strategy takes a two-tiered, best-in-class approach. First, real caring that connects with individuals where they are at in terms of their health status to empower them through education to manage their conditions. Second, integration to help employers design effective and appropriate healthcare benefit plans to cover the span of the healthcare continuum.

People-Centered Disease Management: For disease management and wellness initiatives to achieve positive outcomes, they must start by making positive connections. The Cardium Health approach is people centered, recognizing that individuals are more than just an employee number, a medical history or a chronic disease expense. That is why the Company’s real caring approach goes beyond predictive modeling. A blended opt-in/opt-out process uses a proprietary assessment tool to consider both the quantifiable health risks as well as individuals’ readiness to change and their health literacy, or level of understanding. Says Cave, “Cardium Health understands the real and emotional challenges individuals face when they are diagnosed with a chronic disease or survive a life-threatening medical event. Navigating the healthcare system and understanding medical jargon challenges the capacity of even the most well educated individuals. Too often, the result is non-compliance, which is a leading factor in repeat hospitalizations and complications arising from chronic conditions.”
Integration Across the Healthcare Continuum: Being solely focused on employers and employer groups since the company’s inception in 1997, Cardium Health understands that there is not a “one-size fits all” solution for controlling rising healthcare costs. Each employer has its own unique profile in terms of company culture, demographic health risks, and organizational objectives. Says Kathy O’Brien-Bain, Cardium Health Director, National Accounts, “To achieve successful outcomes, benefit plan design must be customized and integrated to coordinate care across all stages of health to ensure that each individual receives the right level of care, delivered by the right provider, at the right time. When done effectively, it truly means all program partners work together as a team, putting the interests of the employer and their employees first.”

The Cardium Health positioning is presented in a new public Web site launched today. In keeping with the Company’s commitment to education, the purpose of the Web site is to provide information for self-insured employers and benefit plan sponsors so that they can be more informed consumers of health services for their members. It is a content-rich site that seeks to clarify the importance of several issues central to the success of any disease management or wellness initiative:

Health Literacy:According to the Institute of Medicine, nearly half of all Americans – 90 million people – have difficulty understanding or acting on health information.iii As a social issue, it is referred to as “health literacy;” however, it considers much more than a person’s reading level. Health literacy also includes comprehension in other areas such as numeracy, conceptual knowledge, writing, listening, and speaking. How well a person understands mathematics and measurement concepts influences medication compliance. The ability to understand cause and effect relationships is fundamental to encouraging behavior change. Language skills to understand terminology and communicate effectively are essential for individuals to be informed consumers in their healthcare decisions. “At Cardium Health, we recognize the profound impact an individual’s health literacy can have on his or her ability to successfully change behavior and achieve positive clinical outcomes. As such, we have committed ourselves to understand and improve the health literacy of our participants,” says Karen Johnston, Cardium Health National Medical Director.

Self-Advocacy: As a concept, self-advocacy is the ability to speak up for oneself and negotiate in one’s own best interest. The ability for individuals to self-advocate in healthcare decisions is critically important to achieving positive clinical outcomes and properly utilizing healthcare benefits and resources. This is especially true for individuals diagnosed with a chronic disease or serious illness. Unfortunately, often when people are first diagnosed or experience an event, the newness of the situation and emotional stress leave them not knowing what to do. Even well educated people may struggle to communicate their health-related needs, questions and fears. As a result, too often people fail to understand their choices or make informed, educated decisions. Says Patricia Simmons, Cardium Health Clinical Operations Manager, “Cardium Health seeks to empower individuals through education and caring support. Our goal is to help participants improve their health and demonstrate self-advocacy.”

Return on Investment: In the health improvement and disease management industry today, there is a concern that there is no standard for measuring ROI. Because of this, it is said that anybody can make the numbers say anything. “At Cardium Health, our company is dedicated to working together with our customers to understand what the numbers mean and continuously raise the bar to achieve verifiably greater results,” says Jim Nestor, Cardium Health Chief Scientific Officer. The Company's philosophy to do whatever it takes to meet or exceed customers' expectations extends to the gathering, analysis, and communication of data to demonstrate real results. Its reporting process is made up of two components utilizing data collection and health informatics to measure program activity and demographics, clinical metrics, and financial outcomes.

As a company, Cardium Health is implementing its strategy through a commitment to three core values: Real Caring to improve individual lives, not just add lives under management; Real Cooperation for people management, not just disease management; and Real Results for happier, healthier employees, improved productivity, and lower healthcare costs. In closing Cave says, “We are extraordinarily excited about the future of our Company and its growing position in the market. The health improvement and disease management industry is experiencing tremendous growth, and we believe that the Cardium Health people-centered strategy of advocacy for individuals with chronic illness as well as our expanding offerings across the healthcare continuum makes us uniquely positioned to lead the marketplace in the latter half of the decade.”

About Cardium Health: Cardium Health is the leading provider of health improvement and disease management programs to self-insured employers and employer groups. The company’s core focus is on reducing healthcare costs by providing medical support and educational interventions to those individuals with chronic conditions. The Company’s people-centered disease management programs are based on proven clinical and economic best-practice protocols. They include such conditions as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, COPD, back pain, and tobacco cessation, and easily integrate into employers' back-to-work and wellness initiatives. For more information about Cardium Health and its programs, please visit www.cardiumhealth.com.

Mary Ann Dostaler
MAD Communications

860.267.0816
madostaler[at]madcomm.com