Asthmapolis Partners with Amerigroup to Enhance Asthma Management Efforts

MADISON, Wis., March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Asthmapolis today announced the launch of an innovative program in Florida with Amerigroup Florida, Inc. ("Amerigroup Florida") designed to improve the care of members with asthma. Amerigroup Florida will provide the FDA-cleared mobile health solution designed to help its members better manage their asthma, improve understanding of symptoms and triggers and ultimately achieve control of the disease.

Asthmapolis uses a novel combination of snap-on sensors plus web and mobile applications that track when and how often patients use their inhaled medications. The platform, available in both English and Spanish, is designed to help people stick with their daily preventive medications, reveal insights about their use of rescue medications and provide personalized feedback, targeted education and other tools that improve members' ability to manage their own disease.

Targeted Amerigroup Florida members with asthma will receive ongoing educational outreach through email, text, mobile apps and phone support from a certified asthma educator. Members who opt in to the program may also share information about their medication use with their health care provider and care givers, giving them the ability to monitor whether their treatment is truly controlling symptoms.

"This new approach will reduce the number of preventable asthma attacks and asthma related emergency room visits and hospitalizations for our members," said Amerigroup Florida Chief Medical Officer Dr. Eina Fishman. "Focusing on disease education and management, and the importance of proper medication use will help our members understand the importance of controlling their asthma so they may live happier, healthier lives."

"By using the Asthmapolis platform, Amerigroup has made it much easier for its Florida members to track and understand their symptoms, triggers and medication use, a key recommendation of the US national guidelines on asthma management" said David Van Sickle, CEO and Co-Founder of Asthmapolis. "Our work shows that digital support can help patients in managing the disease, resulting in meaningful improvements in asthma control. This in turn can contribute to fewer unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital admissions, and enable patients to achieve a higher quality of life. We're excited to work with Amerigroup Florida to help them and their members reduce the burden of asthma in their community."

About Amerigroup
Amerigroup, a wholly owned subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc., is the largest company focused solely on meeting the health care needs of financially vulnerable Americans. Currently serving approximately 2.7 million members in 13 states nationwide, Amerigroup is dedicated to offering real solutions that improve health care access and quality for our members, while proactively working to reduce the overall cost of care to taxpayers. Together with WellPoint's affiliated health plans, we serve more than 4.5 million beneficiaries of state sponsored health plans in 20 states, making us the nation's leading provider of health care solutions for public programs. Amerigroup accepts all eligible people regardless of age, sex, race or disability.

About Asthmapolis
Asthmapolis was founded in 2010 with the goal of improving the management of asthma for people and healthcare professionals. The company's inhaler sensors, mobile applications and other tools enable individuals with asthma and their physicians to gain more awareness of asthma control and understanding of triggers, while also providing public health researchers with timely, comprehensive and objective data on the burden of asthma in communities. Asthmapolis has partnered with organizations such as the Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the California HealthCare Foundation, Dignity Health and others. For more information, please visit www.asthmapolis.com.

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David Van Sickle
http://www.profnetconnect.com/davidvansickle

SOURCE Asthmapolis