WellTek Establishes Medical Advisory Board for Pure HealthyBack

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WellTek Incorporated (OTC Bulletin Board: WTKN), committed to combating chronic neck and back pain, has established a Medical Advisory Board for the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Pure HealthyBack, to institute and lead the single most important step in healthcare reform for chronic neck and back pain – measurement and reporting of patient results.  The five members of the Advisory Board include: Thomas E. Dreisinger, PhD; Sam Toney, MD; Larry Cortez, MD, FACP; Michael Fulton, MD; and John Karazim, II, MD.

Commenting on his appointment to the Advisory Board, Dr. Dreisinger said, "I look forward to working with such a progressive program.  I have personally witnessed the tangible results produced with the MedX protocols and technology.  Pure HealthyBack is set apart by its ability to provide quantifiable results that are protocol specific, objectively measurable, evidence-based and outcomes driven.  The system put in place demonstrates a true accountability for the quality of patient care."

Performance measurement and reporting is an important tool for improving the healthcare system, since issues of quality are at the heart of so many problems in the health care system; overtreatment, undertreatment, medical errors and escalating costs.  The Pure HealthyBack leadership team has implemented operating practices to collect and disseminate outcomes data to demonstrate and report program efficacy, as well as validate clinical performance.

"We have assembled America's best talent to create a model that serves patients in a different and more effective way.  We are confident that these accomplished medical professionals will provide significant guidance in advancing quality of care at lower costs – bringing real value to our program and our patients," said Randy Lubinsky, WellTek Chairman and CEO.

The members of the medical advisory board include five medical experts.

Dr. Dreisinger – a sought after speaker and panelist – has 30 years of clinical experience in rehabilitation, orthopedics and physical medicine.  He has presented a number of scientific papers both in the United States and abroad, as well as had articles published in numerous biomedical journals, including American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Sports Medicine.  He is a fellow in the North American Spine Society, the American Back Society, and the American College of Sports Medicine.  His is a member of the Board of Trustees for the McKenzie Institute International and co-chairman of the Committee on Exercise for the North American Spine Society.  He is immediate past Chairman of the International Mechanical Diagnosis & Therapy Research Foundation; and is Secretary for the American Back Society.  Dr. Dreisinger has also served as Director of Research at the US Spine & Sport Foundation in San Diego and Vice President for Cumulative Trauma Injury Prevention of Prevention First, Inc., a consulting firm dedicated to the reduction of upper extremity cumulative trauma incidents and low back injuries in industry for clients that included United Airlines and Tyson Foods, among other notables.

Dr. Toney – a board-certified psychiatrist – provides primary clinical, program and criteria oversight for Health Integrated, Inc., a Targeted Population Health Management company dedicated to integrating health with life.  He founded the company in 1996 in response to the growing need for sophisticated care management systems that address both the medical and behavioral health issues affecting patient care.  He brings more than 20 years of expertise in designing and implementing successful specialized behavioral health disease and case management programs across the country.  Dr. Toney also served as the National Medical Director for a large managed behavioral health organization and developed a chain of outpatient mental health centers and both multi-specialty IPA and Primary Care Networks throughout the country.  He is licensed to practice medicine in over 14 states and is also board-certified in Utilization Review and Quality Assurance.

Dr. Cortez has 40 years of experience in medical practice, research, education and administration and 16 years of managed care experience.  He was Vice President for Clinical Innovation and Chief Medical Officer for Senior Products for Humana's seven states South Region, as well as Medical Director for the Ochsner Health Plan in Louisiana.  Prior to holding those positions, Dr. Cortez was a physician staff member where he held the following titles: Associate Head of Infectious Diseases, Medical Director for Patient Relations, Medical Director for Quality Assurance and President of the Medical Staff.  He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases and a Fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.  He has been on the faculty of LSU and Tulane Medical Schools and won several teaching awards.  He has also contributed to medical literature with over 40 articles and book chapters and has lectured on four continents on infectious diseases and the appropriate use of antimicrobials.

Dr. Fulton, founder of Medical Exercise Associates, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon known worldwide for his expertise in orthopedic rehabilitation through strength training.  He has gained national attention for his work in the area of sports medicine and medical fitness training and was heavily involved in the research and development of technically advanced equipment for use in the testing and treatment of musculoskeletal injuries.  He has also lectured in Europe, Asia and South America about Exercise Science and rehabilitation.  Dr. Fulton researches at the University of Florida and has served as the team physician for the United States Water Ski Team.

Dr. Karazim has been a Board Certified physician for 30 years, is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians and Back Pain Society, as well as a member of the American College of Physicians, American College of Sports Medicine, National Institute for Spinal Rehabilitation, and several other medical societies.  In addition to being President of Karazim Medical Consultants PLC – a firm he founded in 2004 – Dr. Karazim is also Medical Director of Evergreen Home Health Care and Corporate Medical Director of Dynamic Rehabilitation Centers, Inc.

About Pure HealthyBack

Pure HealthyBack is building a national network of medical rehabilitation centers for chronic neck and back pain utilizing MedX medical machines, scientifically proven clinical protocols, and an innovative patient-centric approach that places a keen focus on quality care, measurable health outcomes, and cost savings over the life of the patient.  The program's unique approach effectively manages each patient's condition with long-term value in mind.  The overriding mission of our program is to get patients out of the formal healthcare system's expensive merry-go-round and measurably improve their quality of life.

Pure HealthyBack offers a forward-thinking, turnkey program for health plans, large self-insured employer groups, federal government agencies and consumers.  Its viable non-surgical treatment helps patients resolve chronic neck and back pain – ailments that cost the U.S. healthcare system as much as $100 billion each year and afflict an estimated 80% of all adult Americans.  The program is designed to provide care based on the needs of the patient, not the system – avoiding costly treatments and procedures that are often unnecessary, unproven and unsuccessful, thereby drastically cutting the costs of claims, improving patient satisfaction and quality of life, and reducing utilization rates.  For more information, please visit www.PureHealthyBack.com.

About WellTek Incorporated

WellTek is a global health, fitness and wellness company that provides solutions to help address some of the world's most pressing and costly health challenges—obesity and chronic neck and back pain.  The Company's subsidiary, MedX Limited, manufactures, markets and distributes the most advanced medical exercise equipment to the medical and fitness markets.  Through its wholly owned subsidiary Pure HealthyBack, Inc., WellTek is redefining healthcare delivery by providing health plans, self-insured employer groups, and consumers with a viable non-surgical, lower cost treatment for patients who are seeking lasting relief from chronic neck and back pain.  The Company also owns and operates lime Fitness, Inc., a high-end fitness and exercise studio specializing in lifestyle fitness coaching designed to facilitate life, image and mind enrichment.  For more information on the Company, please visit www.WellTekinc.com.  

Certain statements contained in this press release, which are not based on historical facts, are forward-looking statements as the term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are subject to substantial uncertainties and risks in part detailed in the respective Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, that may cause actual results to materially differ from projections.  Although the Company believes that its expectations are reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its businesses, expectations, representations and operations, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from their expectations.  Important factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the Company's ability to execute properly its business model, to raise additional capital to implement its continuing business model, the ability to attract and retain personnel – including highly qualified executives, management and operational personnel, ability to negotiate favorable future debt facilities and capital raises, and the inherent risk associated with a diversified business to achieve and maintain positive cash flow and net profitability. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information contained in this press release will, in fact, occur.  

SOURCE WellTek Incorporated