Louisville, Ky. (March 11, 2008) – With today’s introduction of a next-generation wellness program, mid-size and large employers now have a comprehensive health solution that can effectively address pre-disease and lifestyle issues with a goal of halting the financial and social burdens of disease progression. Designed and made available by SHPS, a leading provider of health advocacy and health benefits solutions, the new Carewise® Personal Wellness Program was developed on the same integrated platform as SHPS’ other comprehensive health management solutions including its case, disease and utilization management and nurse line services.

“SHPS developed its wellness solution with the same rigor, discipline and clinical focus that it built into its other health management solutions, which are highly successful and enjoy significant market receptivity,” says Rishabh Mehrotra, SHPS president and CEO. “Now, SHPS further distinguishes itself as the only care management company to internally develop and roll-out a wellness offering that is totally integrated with its other portfolio solutions. The launch of this new solution is a natural extension of SHPS’ overarching commitment to transforming healthcare delivery to empower people, improve health and reduce costs.”

The integration of a wellness solution with SHPS’ health management solutions creates a 360-degree view of each employee, providing health coaches with real-time insights into which health programs are driving the most value, and facilitating natural transitions between programs. Rather than delivering services in silo programs, SHPS offers a unified health management strategy in one cohesive package. This distinctive approach creates a consistent participant experience, while helping to prevent an individual’s migration to more expensive treatments associated with disease onset.

“Today, employers value wellness programs as a viable way to reduce healthcare costs, a departure from an earlier mindset that these programs simply created a more enjoyable and productive employee environment,” said Krishnan Sastry, executive vice president, strategic product development for SHPS. “With ongoing pressures to lower expenditures, improve health and address pre-disease conditions, the emergence of this more sophisticated and analytical approach to wellness fills a void in the marketplace. SHPS crafted its solution to blend wellness initiatives into overall strategic benefits and human resources planning, with a focus on driving specific health outcomes”

Marketed and delivered as the Carewise Personal Wellness Program, the solution’s components include:

• Carewise Personal Health Assessment and Screening: identification of health issues including a health risk assessment, personalized health report with lifestyle risk score and health behavior chart, as well as individual biometric testing.
• Carewise Personal Health Manager: promotional activities via a health Web site supporting both wellness and condition management solutions, health campaigns, medical content, health trackers and tools.
• Carewise Personalized Health Coaching: self-management and coaching opportunities covering smoking cessation, nutrition, physical activity, weight management and stress management, as well as pre-diabetes, pre-hypertension, pre-hyperlipidemia and obesity. Programs incorporate online lifestyle risk management and telephonic coaching support.

“SHPS’ person-centric solution appropriately recognizes the challenges inherent in changing individual behavior through the creation of personalized care plans that are tailored to circumstances, obstacles and priorities of each participant,” said Lori Huss, SHPS practice leader, behavior modification programs. “By applying the tenets of clinical practice to the guidelines of wellness, SHPS’ wellness solution drives more permanent behavioral changes, documents measurable progress, and generates a positive return-on-investment for plan sponsors.”

SHPS’ next-generation wellness solution is available for immediate implementation to employers and plan sponsors.

“SHPS has answered the market demand for a single, comprehensive source for health management tailored to the distinct needs of an employer’s workforce,” concluded Mehrotra. “These capabilities dramatically simplify the challenges employers face in building effective health solutions. Rather than amalgamating a smorgasbord of generic offerings, they now have a turnkey portfolio that delivers results.”

About SHPS
SHPS provides a broad range of innovative health management tools, resources and services that empower consumers to make wise healthcare decisions. With comprehensive services that transform consumer health behaviors, SHPS’ integrated delivery system maximizes the value of consumers’ and employers’ healthcare dollars. Among its many clients, SHPS serves large and mid-sized employers, health insurance carriers, third party administrators, Medicare Part D providers and government agencies. The company employs registered nurses and health professionals, employee benefit specialists and IT experts in facilities across the United States. Visit www.shps.com.

For More Information
Sarah Bovine
Director, Corporate Communications
sarah.bovine@shps.com

(Return to News Releases)