Physicians, Health Policy Experts Call for a National Health System Focused on Prevention

Definitions may vary, but a degree of wellness is attainable by every individual at any stage of life. That’s what a group of clinical and healthcare policy experts determined when they were asked to redefine wellness and to rethink the focus of our current healthcare system with an eye toward prevention. Their work, released today by Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and Healthways (NASDAQ: HWAY), recommends the development of a comprehensive national system devoted to preventing the onset of disease, calling it a public health imperative. More information and copies of the report are available at: www.rethinkwellness.com. The report, Embracing Health: Tools and Systems for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, was created from the consensus of more than 200 physicians, healthcare thought leaders, policymakers, patients and payers. It challenges the status quo of the existing healthcare system by calling for the alignment of incentives to help prevent the onset of chronic disease – the nation’s number one killer. It also provides the elements of a national preventive health system and calls for Americans to rethink the very definition of wellness to include everyone, regardless of health status, age or the presence of disease or disability. "We’ve known for years that prevention works, and this report lays the groundwork for a national system that delivers on the promise of preventive care,” said Fred Brancati, M.D., MHS, director of general internal medicine, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "This year’s consensus report outlines the beginnings of a delivery model for preventive and wellness services that will improve lives and lower healthcare costs.” The health and financial benefits of prevention are well established. Centers for Disease Control statistics show: For every Dollar spent on arthritis self-help programs, $3.42 was saved in physician hospital costs. For every dollar spent on preconception care for diabetic women, $1.86 was saved in the prevention of birth defects. Among adults at high risk for heart attack, daily aspirin regimen saved 80,000 lives annually. Influenza vaccination saved $117 per person vaccinated. "Historically, the evolution of our healthcare system has centered on improving the delivery of care to people who are already sick,” said Healthways Chief Medical Officer Dexter Shurney, M.D., MPH. "We’ve gotten very good at this kind of care, but we believe the future of a sustainable healthcare system lies in harnessing our knowledge and creating the infrastructure to prevent or reduce the risk of illness in the first place.” The Outcomes Summit report identifies barriers to preventive services in the current healthcare system as well as opportunities under a new, preventive health model. For example, In the current healthcare system: Patients are seen by physicians only when they are ill Many people lack knowledge to attain their personal best health A healthcare industry that is uncertain of the best way to systemize the practice of prevention and healthcare In a preventive health system: Patients receive preventive care to avoid future costly medical treatment Patients receive decision-support tools and are motivated to make the appropriate lifestyle choices to improve their health and well-being Expanded prevention coverage policies for self-insured employers "Healthcare management and prevention should be about fixing the system that leads to disease,” said Dee Edington, Ph.D., director, University of Michigan Health Management Research Center and a keynote speaker at the Summit. "Unfortunately, we keep ignoring the system while trying to fix diseases.” About the Outcomes Summit Healthways and Johns Hopkins held the 1st Annual Disease Management Outcomes Summit in 2001. The Summit engages physicians in intensive discussions on critical issues confronting the U.S. healthcare system. The aim of the Summit is to optimize health outcomes for all patients through the advancement of best clinical practices and improvements in the organization of care delivery. Each year, the Summit brings together more than 200 practicing physicians, physician executives, thought leaders and subject matter experts from across the country to tackle and reach consensus on a selected healthcare issue. About Johns Hopkins For more than a century, Johns Hopkins' defining health care mission has been the quest for new knowledge and higher standards of health care, leading to better health for individuals and societies. Among the world's most well known and highly regarded health care institutions, its faculty annually receives more federal funding for biomedical research than at any other U. S. university. For the past 16 years, the Johns Hopkins Hospital has received top ranking in U.S. News & World Report "Best Hospitals” surveys. Johns Hopkins co-hosts the annual Outcomes Summit with Healthways. Healthways, which provided seed capital to Johns Hopkins to establish the Outcomes Evaluation Program, also compensates participating clinicians and research faculty from the Johns Hopkins schools of Medicine, Nursing and the Bloomberg School of Public Health for their comprehensive, independent analyses of the effectiveness of a wide range of Healthways’ outcomes intervention models and their clinical and financial results. About Healthways Healthways is the leading provider of specialized, comprehensive Health and Care SupportSM solutions to help millions of people maintain or improve their health and, as a result, reduce overall healthcare costs. Healthways' programs are designed to help healthy individuals stay healthy, mitigate and slow the progression of disease associated with family or lifestyle risk factors and promote the best possible health for those already affected by disease. Our proven, evidence-based programs provide highly specific and personalized interventions for each individual in a population, irrespective of age or health status, and are delivered to consumers by phone, mail, internet and face-to-face interactions, both domestically and internationally. Healthways also provides a national, fully accredited complementary and alternative Health Provider Network, offering convenient access to individuals who seek health services outside of, and in conjunction with, the traditional healthcare system. For more information, please visit www.healthways.com.