National Jewish to Provide Asthma Disease Management Services for Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Inc.

DENVER -- National Jewish Medical and Research Center has agreed to provide its Asthma Disease Management Program to members of Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Inc.’s (MAMSI) HMOs, MD-Individual Practice Association, Inc., Optimum Choice, Inc. and Optimum Choice of the Carolinas, Inc. The National Jewish Asthma Disease Management Program uses telephone and e-mail interventions, educational brochures, and interactive Internet tools to help asthma patients better manage their asthma and reduce exacerbations of the disease. The terms of the contract were not disclosed.

"We believe this partnership will benefit both patients and physicians in the mid-Atlantic region," said David Tinkelman, MD, National Jewish’s Vice President of Health Initiatives. "The asthma disease management program helps patients improve their quality of life while reducing hospitalizations and emergency-room visits. We provide valuable information to physicians about patients’ concerns, needs and symptoms while helping the physician by educating patients and improving their compliance with prescribed medical regimens."

National Jewish provides disease management services for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to almost 15,000 patients in more than 40 health plans nationwide. Telephone interventions, both proactive and reactive, are the cornerstone of the programs. They also include a variety of Internet-based tools, including educational materials, the Interactive Asthma Diary to help monitor symptoms, and the LUNG LINE e-mail services.

In five years of operation the asthma disease management plan has reduced hospitalizations, emergency-room visits, intensive-care-unit admissions, and absenteeism by more than 70%, while also improving perceived quality of life. The COPD management program has had similar results during its four years of operation.

MAMSI is one of the mid-Atlantic region’s largest health services companies with subsidiaries covering over 1.8 million lives in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Delaware, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. For more information about MAMSI, visit www.mamsi.com.

National Jewish is the only medical and research center in the United States devoted entirely to respiratory, allergic and immune system diseases, including asthma, tuberculosis, emphysema, severe allergies, AIDS, cancer, lupus and other autoimmune diseases. For more information call LUNG LINEâ at 1-800-222-LUNG (5864), or visit the National Jewish Web site at www.nationaljewish.org.