HealthTrio Sues Aetna for Patent Infringement in Colorado

DENVER, Dec. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Denver-based health care information technology and services provider HealthTrio, LLC, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Aetna, Inc. (NYSE: AET) and two Aetna subsidiaries.

In the lawsuit filed Dec. 11, 2012, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, attorneys for HealthTrio allege that Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna and subsidiaries ActiveHealth Management, Inc. and Medicity, Inc. have infringed 10 HealthTrio information technology patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 7,428,494; 7,440,904; 7,509,264; 7,831,446; 8,073,710; 8,214,234; 8,229,760; 8,265,954; 8,131,563; and 8,321,239. 

The inventions protected by these patents are methods and systems for connecting all health care participants (including patients, doctors, other health care providers, and health insurance companies) to improve the quality of care, decrease costs, and streamline administrative processes. 

HealthTrio's patented solutions facilitate the real-time sharing of information via easy-to-access online portals for consumers and their health care providers.  Such solutions are now considered best practices for health care participants to promote compliance with recent federal regulations regarding the digitization of medical records.

The HealthTrio patents resulted from the pioneering work of Dr. Malik Hasan, founder and CEO of HealthTrio, and his co-inventors' extensive knowledge of both the information-sharing needs of health care participants, and also the functional characteristics of modern health care information technology systems.  HealthTrio invests significant resources in its ongoing research and development efforts, to promote its innovative products and technology, and to secure intellectual property protection for its inventions.

"HealthTrio's ultimate goal is to create a patient-centric electronic health care record that is comprehensive in its scope and that facilitates information-sharing among all health care participants – patients, hospitals, health care providers, and health insurance companies," said Dr. Hasan.  "We have been innovators and market-leaders in the field of health care information technology dating back to the founding of our company."

HealthTrio's innovations are protected by its extensive patent portfolio, which numbers 19 issued United States patents with 623 issued claims and 23 allowed claims; 12 patents issued in other countries with 204 issued claims and 10 allowed claims; 8 pending patent applications in the United States; and 9 pending foreign patent applications.

HealthTrio is represented in the lawsuit by attorneys from Dallas' Skiermont Puckett LLP and Denver's Sheridan Ross PC. The lawsuit is HealthTrio, LLC, v. Aetna, Inc., ActiveHealth Management, Inc., and Medicity, Inc., Civil Action No. 1:12-CV-03229 (COD).  HealthTrio is requesting monetary damages as well as an order permanently enjoining the defendants from continuing the alleged infringement. 

About HealthTrio, LLC

Dr. Malik M. Hasan, a board-certified neurologist, founded HealthTrio to modernize and improve health care management, building on his years of experience in the fields of medicine, managed care, and health care informatics.  HealthTrio's focus on developing cutting-edge connectivity solutions lead to the development of its ground-breaking portfolio of health care solutions that empower consumers to take control of their health and make better choices to improve outcomes and decrease cost.

About Dr. Malik Hasan

Dr. Hasan, co-inventor of the patents-in-suit and founder and CEO of HealthTrio, is a pioneer and innovator in the U.S. health care industry.  A former practicing neurologist who immigrated to the United States in the early 1970s, Dr. Hasan is a certified member of the American Association of Electromyography and Electrodiagnosis and a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.  He has served on numerous national commissions related to improvements to the U.S. health care system and industry.

Dr. Hasan maintained his private practice until July 1992, while concurrently overseeing the administration of QualMed, later HealthNet, the HMO he founded in 1985, since its inception.  HealthNet is the only successful, publicly traded national health plan in the country founded by an individual without sponsorship from any existing major insurance companies, hospital systems, federal grants or loans, or venture capital firm funding.

For more information on the lawsuit filed by HealthTrio, inquiries may be directed to Donald Puckett, 214-978-6600, http://www.skiermontpuckett.com.

SOURCE Skiermont Puckett LLP