New Web Tools Help Consumers Pick a Hospital, Assess Health Risks, Compare Prescriptions; Become More Informed Health Care Decision Makers- New myCIGNA.com Capabilities Give Members the Information They Need - When They Need It - To Make Smart Health Care Choices and Develop a Personal Wellness Plan - BLOOMFIELD, Conn., March 10, 2003 -- More than 12 million CIGNA HealthCare members can now use new interactive online tools - available through the company's personalized benefits Web portal, myCIGNA.com - to help them make more savvy health care decisions, with information tailored to their individual needs, preferences and health status. CIGNA HealthCare members who access their personal myCIGNA.com portal can now: -- Compare hospital quality information for more than 50 medical diagnoses & surgical procedures; -- Assess their personal health risks and how to reduce them; -- Compare prescription drug choices, potential side effects and costs; and, -- Access information on over 5,000 health and medical topics. "Consumers are taking a more active role in making decisions about their health, and making good choices requires having accurate, timely and relevant information," said Patrick Welch, president of CIGNA HealthCare. "These new Web tools, along with other member information services such as our 24-hour nurseline, create a more personalized approach that helps people better care for their health and navigate the health care system when they're ill." Complementing the new online tools are programs and services that CIGNA HealthCare members can take advantage of when they have a health concern. Members can call a 24-hour nurseline to ask questions about what they've learned, participate in a disease management program if they have a chronic condition, use nurse case management services for serious and complex medical situations, or access the Healthy Rewards(R) program to get discounts on wellness programs such as weight management, smoking cessation, fitness club memberships and massage therapy. Added to the growing suite of online tools available at myCIGNA.com are: -- Detailed reports on hospital quality ratings - CIGNA HealthCare members have access to objective hospital quality information, including mortality and complication rates for more than 50 medical diagnoses and surgical procedures. Select Quality Care(TM), one of the nation's leading Web-based tools for accessing and comparing quality data about hospitals, provides the ratings based on selection criteria that are personalized to the member's own needs and preferences. -- Health risk assessment - Members can identify health risks and monitor their health status using the CareSteps(SM) online health risk assessment, an interactive tool from American Healthways that asks users to respond to a brief health condition and lifestyle questionnaire, and then provides them with a customized health status report. All information in the tool is based on widely accepted medical best practices and standards of care, and is designed to help members learn about their conditions, design a personalized wellness plan, and track progress toward the goal of improved health. -- Prescription drug comparisons - PharmaAdvisor(TM) allows members to make side-by-side comparisons of prescription drugs - their out-of- pocket costs, alternatives and side effects. The tool helps people have more informed discussions with doctors about their options in selecting medications by creating a personalized list of questions members can review with their doctor. -- Library of information on diseases and conditions - myCIGNA.com offers CIGNA HealthCare members detailed disease and condition information from Healthwise Incorporated, a respected provider of medical information. This online library, called the Healthwise(R) Knowledgebase, is also available to the trained nurses on the toll- free CIGNA HealthCare 24-hour Health Information Line(SM), so that nurse and member may review and discuss questions and conditions using the same reference guides. In addition to these tools, CIGNA HealthCare's web-based provider directory now contains links to physician web sites provided through Medem, making it easier for consumers to access online information about participating physicians. Launched in June 2002, myCIGNA.com gives CIGNA plan participants a highly personalized, interactive, consultative - and simple - way of improving the quality of their health care and retirement benefits experience. Through myCIGNA.com, health plan members may access information on their personal medical and dental plans, check claims status, find and select in-network health care providers, order prescriptions online, access Healthy Rewards(R) discounts and receive health news and information based on their individual preferences. Web site: http://www.mycigna.com. About CIGNA HealthCare CIGNA HealthCare, headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut, provides medical benefits through managed care and indemnity health care plans to approximately 13.1 million people, dental coverage to approximately 13.1 million, behavioral health coverage to approximately 14.1 million, and pharmacy benefits to approximately 9.8 million people. "CIGNA HealthCare" refers to various operating subsidiaries of CIGNA Corporation (NYSE: CI). Products and services are provided by these operating subsidiaries and not by CIGNA Corporation. SOURCE CIGNA Corporation Web Site: http://www.cigna.com Contact: Joseph Mondy of CIGNA eCommerce, +1-860-226-5499; or Amy Turkington of CIGNA HealthCare, +1-860-226-3489 |