Contact Information: Healthwise Contact: Brenda Foster Phone: 208.331.6963 E-mail: The Vitality Group Contact: Cary Conway Phone: 972.731.9242 E-mail:
Healthwise Joins the Vitality Health Enhancement Program
Health Management Tools and Content Help People Take Action for Better Health
| Source: Healthwise
CHICAGO, IL and BOISE, ID--(Marketwire - March 19, 2009) - The Vitality Group and Healthwise
announced today they will offer a comprehensive suite of integrated health
information and tools to help people take control of their health. The
Vitality Group will include Healthwise® consumer health content --
including decision aids and behavior change information -- with
Vitality™, a personalized, incentive-based, health enhancement program
that awards Vitality Bucks® to participants who engage in healthy
activities.
"The Vitality Group and Healthwise are both dedicated to helping people
manage their health and reducing the incidence of preventable disease,"
said Arthur C. Carlos, CEO of The Vitality Group. "Our personalized
Vitality health management program is enhanced by the addition of
Healthwise health content to help educate people to improve their health."
The Vitality incentive-based program rewards participants who make positive
health and lifestyle choices, such as following preventive care guidelines
and participating in periodic screenings to measure cholesterol, blood
glucose, height, weight, blood pressure, and tobacco use. Vitality
participants are able to access relevant health and wellness information
provided by Healthwise based on their unique needs. The Vitality program is
designed to reduce healthcare costs, enhance member satisfaction and
increase employee productivity.
As part of the program, Vitality invites members who have specific health
conditions or risk factors to participate in guided online self-management
tools, called Healthwise® Ix® HealthMastery® Campaigns. Delivered
over time, Campaigns provide participants with messages on
condition-specific topics. The Campaigns include engaging materials like
tip sheets, recipes, stories, and online magazines called E-Zines, and they
link to more detailed health content in the online Healthwise®
Knowledgebase. In addition, participants receive links to Healthwise®
Ix® Conversations where they can interact with a virtual health coach who
responds with answers personalized to their input.
Vitality tracks participants' progress throughout the entire
self-management program. As members progress toward a healthier lifestyle,
they are awarded Vitality Bucks, commensurate with their Vitality
Status®. Participants can cash in their Vitality Bucks for everything
from movie tickets to name-brand merchandise and vacation packages.
"By combining Vitality's highly personalized health management program with
Healthwise educational content and tools, consumers benefit from a
comprehensive suite of resources to help them manage and improve their
health," said Donald W. Kemper, Healthwise chairman and CEO. "Vitality
members can easily find health information on their own or have it
prescribed to them and incentivized at just the right time in an ongoing
and engaging way."
About The Vitality Group
The Vitality Group, Inc. offers the innovative, incentive-based
Vitality™ health enhancement program to organizations and their
employees throughout North America. The Vitality program provides employees
with Vitality Rewards® for engaging in activities and adopting behaviors
that result in lowered health risks. Vitality has been actuarially proven
to improve health, reduce healthcare costs, and generate a positive return
on investment (ROI) for employers.
The Vitality Group is a member of Discovery Holdings Limited, a publicly
traded company which pioneered the development of Vitality. With over 1.5
million members across the United States, United Kingdom and South Africa,
Vitality is the most experienced incentive-based health enhancement program
in the world. For more information, visit www.thevitalitygroup.com.
About Healthwise
Healthwise is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make
better health decisions. Nearly 120 million times a year, people turn to
Healthwise information to learn how to do more for themselves, ask for the
care they need, and say "no" to the care they don't need. Healthwise
partners with health plans, hospitals, disease management companies, and
health Web sites to provide up-to-date, evidence-based information to the
people they serve. To learn more about the Healthwise Information Therapy
(Ix®) Solution, visit www.healthwise.org or call 1.800.706.9646.
© 2009, Healthwise, Incorporated.
Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, HealthMastery and the
Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise.
1.800.706.9646
www.healthwise.org