LodgeNet Healthcare Sets the Standard for Patient Engagement and Transition to Patient Centered Care

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Aug. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- LodgeNet Healthcare, the leading provider of integrated patient engagement solutions, experienced growing momentum as interest in, and demand for, the company's products and services surged and the pace of new agreements and upgrades accelerated significantly. These achievements reinforced industry recognition of LodgeNet Healthcare's ability to facilitate patients' active participation in managing their own care while fostering collaboration and care coordination throughout the care delivery continuum. Following are the notable milestones achieved by LodgeNet Healthcare during the first six months of 2011:

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080115/AQTU120LOGO)

• A corporate reorganization established LodgeNet Healthcare as an independent, but wholly owned subsidiary of LodgeNet Interactive Corporation (NASDAQ: LNET). This restructuring ensures ongoing operational and product development enhancements that will enable the company to introduce and improve product and service offerings that support interactive patient engagement, a key factor in healthcare reform.  
• Additional staff was hired to support LodgeNet Healthcare's growing customer base and business objectives. New team members bring valuable expertise in the areas of Clinical Strategy, Account Management, Project Management, Product Development and Marketing. In addition, the company has internalized its sales force and now employs a team of dedicated, knowledgeable sales executives who are regionally located throughout the United States.
• Continued growth was further validated by fourteen new implementations, currently in various stages of completion in hospitals across the country. These hospitals include: academic medical centers, several children's hospitals, a hospital that serves the Cherokee Nation, community hospitals, small rural hospitals, several hospitals from a large health system, and a women's hospital. The diversity of contracted hospitals and health systems demonstrates the flexibility and scalability of LodgeNet Healthcare's solutions, which provide patient education, empowerment and engagement before, during and after a patient is hospitalized.
• Recognizing the widespread value that LodgeNet Healthcare provides, the Texas Health Resources system and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) named LodgeNet Healthcare a vendor of choice, which will spur greater adoption of LodgeNet Healthcare solutions within their systems.
• LodgeNet Healthcare announced that eSUITE™ is being expanded to include new applications that will encourage patients to play active roles in managing their health outside hospital walls through the use of home PCs and mobile phones. This upgrade will provide robust solutions to improve clinical outcomes before, during and after hospitalization by supporting adherence to medication and other treatment regimens. eSUITE offers hospitals the ability to "get ahead of the curve" when it comes to demonstrating meaningful use of health information technology, creating accountable care organizations, implementing quality initiatives per value-based purchasing and reducing avoidable readmissions.
• LodgeNet Healthcare entered into an agreement with Amerinet, a leading national healthcare group purchasing organization, to provide Amerinet members with solutions that support patient engagement throughout the continuum of care at a reduced cost. LodgeNet Healthcare also partnered with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists to develop "My Medication," a clinically integrated application that delivers personalized medication education in patient-friendly language to improve medication compliance and health outcomes.  

"There is growing recognition that patient empowerment and engagement are critical, and these business imperatives will lay the foundation for LodgeNet Healthcare's continued growth," stated Gary Kolbeck, President of LodgeNet Healthcare. "We are increasingly being recognized and sought out as an innovator that is leading the way for hospitals to strengthen their relationships with patients beyond their four walls and to support the adoption of collaborative and coordinated patient care. We anticipate continuing growth momentum as we leverage proven studies, existing trends, increasing quality mandates and the enthusiastic support and referrals from our satisfied hospital customers to usher in a new era of patient-centered care driven by involved, educated patients who reject the passivity that has been the norm until now."

About LodgeNet Healthcare

LodgeNet Healthcare, an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of LodgeNet Interactive Corporation (NASDAQ: LNET), is the leading provider of patient engagement solutions designed to entertain, educate and empower patients. The company's interactive technology provides a cost-effective foundation to help hospitals comply with health reform mandates for patient-centered, collaborative care such as meaningful use, unnecessary readmissions, accountable care organizations (ACOs) and more. LodgeNet Healthcare offers eSUITE™, a shared decision-making tool that interacts with patients throughout the entire continuum of care using evidence-based engagement principles proven to improve clinical outcomes. Hospitals also benefit from LodgeNet Healthcare's professional services and consulting, patient-focused integrations and content solutions that are supported by the industry's only nationwide field service team. For more information, visit the LodgeNet Healthcare Website.

LodgeNet and eSUITE are trademarks or registered trademarks of LodgeNet Interactive Corporation. 

SOURCE LodgeNet Healthcare