wired.MD™, Inc. Introduces the streaMed™ Patient Education Solution

Patient Education Innovator Delivers Web-Enabled Solution to the Exam Room

eHealthcare World Expo, San Diego, May 23, 2001 – wired.MD™, Inc. announced today the release of the streaMed™ patient education solution, a new media patient education software application the company will demonstrate to thousands of healthcare information technology and physician executives at the eHealthcare World exposition in San Diego this week. wired.MD is the first to offer healthcare professionals a web-enabled patient education solution that provides patients with new media medical information that is specific to their healthcare needs and delivered at the point of care.

The streaMed solution uses a combination of video, audio, and text in a physician-directed Information Prescription ^TM that increases patient understanding and retention, improves patient compliance and health outcomes, and reduces overall healthcare costs. The Information Prescription gives patients appropriate medical information at the appropriate place and time. Providers can also give their patients a text printout of information specific to their visit and an anonymous Information Prescription number, which allows patients to access the same educational information on the Internet from their own personal computers, to review at home or to share with family members.

"streaMed launches a new era of enhanced patient education that meets the needs of clinicians and patients to share information that is vital to good health," said wired.MD CEO Mark Friess. "Medical staff members, patients, and healthcare organizations will see significant benefits as supplemental new media patient education, in the exam room and beyond, becomes a common part of every medical visit."

Users within the healthcare community will see these critical needs met by streaMed:

• Healthcare providers offer additional information to their patients, maximize staff and patient time, and extend their practice beyond the office.
• Patients receive new media patient education at the point of care that improves information retention, treatment compliance, and overall health outcomes, all leading to increased patient health and satisfaction.
• Healthcare organizations, experiencing the benefits for providers and patients, achieve increased patient retention, extend their influence to patients’ homes, and improve regulatory audit results and scores.

Although the Internet has become a common source for health information, research indicates that 75% of individuals cite their physician as the most credible source for helping them choose which information to trust. At the same time, clinicians are required to do more than ever during the limited time they spend with patients. Using exam room waiting time to expose patients to specific health information meets the desires of patients and frees providers to focus on other areas of the physician-patient relationship.

In its initial release, the streaMed solution will include over 150 evidence-based modules covering nine specialty areas: primary care, emergency services, dermatology, gynecology, pulmonology, gastrointestinal, orthopedics, rheumatology, and neurology. Commonly used modules are available in seven languages. Additional specialty packages are under development for release during Q1 2002. Healthcare organizations can use the streaMed patient education solution to increase the amount of education provided to patients without disrupting the daily workflow of the medical staff.

streaMed can be installed directly into an organization’s existing hardware and network infrastructure and requires a standard Internet connection. The software is designed for ease-of-use, with training provided through a web-based program.

wired.MD, Inc. was founded in Portland, Oregon in March 2000. The company’s mission is to empower healthcare professionals to improve patients' healthcare experience and reduce costs by making patient education more engaging, effective, and efficient to deliver. wired.MD is located at 317 S.W. Alder Street, Third Floor, Portland, Oregon, 97204, and can be contacted at (503) 889-0010, info@wired.md, or www.wired.MD.