Webinar to discuss the issues surrounding disease management programs

At a time when healthcare is at the top of the national agenda, two issues have emerged as most critical to reform: reducing costs and improving care. Managing chronic illness and improving overall consumer health through personalized disease management and wellness programs are proven to be effective, but today, only those patients and health plan members who are most at risk get personalized attention. The result? Program enrollment suffers, clinical and administrative resources are taxed, costs soar, and consumer health deteriorates.

In this complimentary Webinar, Elizabeth Boehm, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, will discuss the issues surrounding disease management programs today and how best to enroll all patients who would benefit instead of just those who are most at risk.

Senior Vice President Michael Montijo, MD, Healthways, Inc., a provider of health and disease management solutions, will provide a real-world example of how Healthways used proactive outbound communications to decrease outreach costs, increase program enrollment and optimize patient outcomes through ongoing personalized monitoring.

WHEN: Tuesday, October 13, 2009, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT / 11:00 a.m. – Noon PDT

WHAT: A complimentary Webinar featuring Forrester Principal Analyst Elizabeth Boehm and Healthways Senior VP Michael Montijo, MD, on the state of disease management programs today and how to incorporate personalized outreach to better engage more patients with fewer resources.

Specific topics will include:

• An overview of disease management issues today and a view toward what the future holds
• Effective strategies top companies are using to increase enrollment in disease management and wellness programs
• Proven steps to decrease costs associated with personalized patient communications

WHO: Elizabeth Boehm, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, focuses her research on customer experience in regards to health plans, life sciences firms and hospitals. Through her research and consulting, Boehm helps health plans drive administrative efficiency and loyalty, as well as uncover emerging best practices around technology-mediated wellness and disease management. Boehm has been a featured and highly-rated speaker at national healthcare events and is frequently quoted in such leading publications as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Michael Montijo, MD, Senior Vice President at Healthways Inc., is responsible for the operations and success of the Health and Care Product Designs, the Medicare Health Support Pilot Programs and all government-related initiatives for the company. Prior to joining Healthways, Dr. Montijo consulted with various pharmaceutical companies, was the CMO and EVP for HIP Health Plans and practiced internal medicine for more than 15 years in southern Arizona. He is a graduate of the UCLA School of Medicine and holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.