Evanston Northwestern Healthcare and Healthwise Give Patients Never-Ending Health Content

BOISE, ID -- (MARKET WIRE) -- March 29, 2007 -- Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (ENH), an integrated health care system, and Healthwise, a nonprofit provider of consumer health information, announce a new partnership that will take patient service to a whole new level. ENH is implementing the Healthwise® Knowledgebase online solution and Healthwise Ix® Patient Instructions for application to the entire ENH system.

Healthwise is leading a major change in health care to prescribe information therapy (Ix) to patients as part of every health care encounter. The Healthwise Ix Solution is a set of connected products to help people make better health decisions at precise moments of care. ENH will be using products from two of the three levels of the Ix Solution -- the foundation or self-serve level (Healthwise Knowledgebase) and the prescription level (Ix Patient Instructions).

"This is where we really see care quality and safety moving forward," said A.J. Melaragno, ENH assistant vice president of interactive marketing. "The Healthwise Knowledgebase and Patient Instructions will help us improve how we are delivering health information to our patients by reaching them at critical moments in their care."

The Healthwise Knowledgebase and Patient Instructions integration in the ENH Web site, physician portal, and electronic medical records (EMR) system can give ENH patients the information they need about their diagnoses or conditions during their hospital visits and in the days, weeks, and months to come. Physicians and patients can begin using the Healthwise Knowledgebase and Ix Patient Instructions in May. Eventually, Healthwise content will be completely integrated with ENH's electronic medical records.

"By providing Patient Instructions with links to the Web, ENH is helping to transform its patients into informed and engaged partners in health care," said Donald W. Kemper, Healthwise founder and CEO. "We are pleased to support this significant advancement in information therapy -- the prescription of the right information to the right person at just the right time."

The Healthwise Knowledgebase connects physicians, nurses, and patients to over 6,000 online health topics ranging from managing chronic conditions to maintaining good health. Healthwise Ix Patient Instructions can be prescribed to patients for every new diagnosis, clinic visit, medical test, or prescription medication and provide them with a summary of the appointment and "next steps" to take in managing their specific conditions. Unique codes on the Ix Patient Instructions connect patients to the Knowledgebase for more in-depth information on their specific health concerns.

By implementing the Healthwise Knowledgebase and Patient Instructions, ENH can help more of its patients make better health decisions, because personalized, engaging, and decision-supporting information they need will be delivered to them at just the time they need it.

About Evanston Northwestern Healthcare

Located in Chicago's northern suburbs, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (ENH) is an integrated health care system that includes Evanston, Glenbrook, and Highland Park Hospitals, ENH Medical Group (comprising 65 medical offices and facilities), ENH Home Services, ENH Research Institute, and ENH Foundation.

Through its affiliation with Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, ENH supports extensive medical education and research. ENH is in the top 5.5 percent of all institutions that receive funding from the National Institutes of Health; among multi-specialty independent research hospitals, it ranks 10th in the nation in funding from NIH.

ENH is the only health care system in the United States that has been named a top 100 hospital 11 times. ENH is also ranked among the top 50 hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

About Healthwise

Healthwise is a nonprofit organization that has been helping people make better health decisions since 1975. Nearly 90 million times a year, people turn to Healthwise information for help in making health decisions. Healthwise works with health plans, disease management companies, hospitals, employers, and clinics to provide decision-support and self-management information to the people they serve. Healthwise revolutionized the role of information and the consumer with information therapy (Ix®). The Healthwise Ix Solution, the next generation of information therapy, means more people can make better health decisions, because the personalized, engaging, and decision-supporting information they need will be delivered to them at the time they need it. To learn more, visit www.healthwise.org or call 1.800.706.9646.

Contact Information: Healthwise Contact: Brenda Foster Phone: 208.331.6963 E-mail: Email Contact