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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACTS:
BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER HEALTHNET PLAN PARTNERS WITH HEALTH Tampa, FL, April 7, 2008 – Health Integrated, a pioneer in biopsychosocial health management, announced today that it has partnered with Boston Medical Center (BMC) HealthNet Plan to assist chronically ill MassHealth (Medicaid) and Commonwealth Care members throughout Massachusetts. Through Health Integrated’s Synergy Personal Health Management® program BMC HealthNet Plan members are empowered to better manage their health and improve their quality of life through coaching, education and support in collaboration with their physician’s plan of care. This unique program emphasizes principles of behavior change and addresses the individual’s behavioral health and social support status as well as their medical conditions. Synergy is being offered at no additional charge to eligible BMC HealthNet Plan members in an effort to positively impact their health. “We are dedicated to providing innovative health solutions for our members,” said BMC HealthNet Plan Chief Medical Officer Andrea Gelzer. “This effort will empower our members who suffer from certain chronic conditions to better understand these conditions and take a more active part in managing their health in collaboration with their doctors.” The Synergy program includes a specially trained clinician (Care Coach), who develops a personalized coaching plan built around an individual’s specific needs and psychosocial factors affecting their health. The Care Coach assists the individual in setting health related goals (e.g., greater motivation for self-care, better knowledge of their condition, better communication skills, better coping skills) and provides tools to help the individual achieve those goals. The coaches help individuals identify any barriers that may be preventing them from feeling their best and encourages them to clearly communicate with their physicians and follow their treatment plans. The program also provides educational, motivational and support messages and information to further empower the individual to achieve improved self-care. BMC HealthNet Plan will offer this program to plan members who meet specific requirements. “The Synergy program will help BMCHP members become more knowledgeable about their own health, more motivated to follow prescribed treatments and more able to establish and achieve goals to better health,” said Dr. Sam Toney, vice chairman and chief medical officer at Health Integrated. “Through education and support we can better ensure that patients follow their treatment more closely, improve their overall health and are more productive in the workplace and their daily lives.” “Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan and Health Integrated are very well matched in this
endeavor,” said Al Lewis, founder of Disease Management Purchasing Consortium
International, Inc. (DMPC), a leading provider of strategy and procurement services to support About Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan About Health Integrated |