NORTHFIELD, IL -- (Marketwire) -- 12/02/09 -- According to Stephen F. Jencks, MD, MPH, in a recent New England Journal of Medicine article, America's healthcare crisis is fueled by unnecessary and costly hospitalizations, including re-admissions -- 90% of which are unplanned and at a price-tag of $17.4 billion. To enhance care and combat readmissions, South Jersey Healthcare (SJH), a leading regional healthcare provider in southern New Jersey, has entered a partnership with Pharos Innovations that aims to reduce healthcare costs while improving quality of life for patients.

Through this partnership, SJH's heart failure (HF) patients at its Regional Medical Center and Elmer Hospital will have access to Pharos' Tel-Assurance®, a cost-effective, proactive remote patient monitoring system that has proven dramatic clinical improvement and cost savings. Tel-Assurance takes a collaborative and simple health information technology (HIT) approach to chronic care management, which simplifies care coordination. With just a cell phone, landline or Internet connection and basic measurement tools, such as a bathroom scale, Tel-Assurance has helped Medicare, Medicaid and commercial patients and their physicians achieve break-through levels of clinical and financial performance improvement.

"We selected Pharos as our partner because theirs is a truly innovative solution with a proven track record of success reducing hospital readmissions in different populations across the country," said Steven Linn, M.D., M.P.H., chief medical officer, South Jersey Healthcare. "In addition, by engaging our patients in monitoring their own health status through devices they already have and are using at home, we can improve their health while controlling our costs. It is early into the program, but we are already seeing notable decreases in avoidable hospital admissions."

"We are pleased to have been selected by SJH as their partner to help address the growing problem of unnecessary hospitalizations," said Randall E. Williams, MD, CEO of Pharos. "By using the Tel-Assurance technology platform to remotely monitor their HF patients, SJH will be able to reduce hospital admissions and improve health outcomes for their patients. The result is better, more efficient and cost-effective care."

Developed over the past 14+ years by Dr. Williams, a Johns Hopkins-trained cardiologist, and refined by a staff of diversely experienced healthcare professionals, the success of Tel-Assurance is well documented in third party studies and clinical trials.

About South Jersey Healthcare

SJH is a nonprofit, integrated health care system, providing access to a continuum of health services. SJH provides hospital services, numerous community health clinics, home health services, and specialty services, which serve the medical and health care needs of Southern New Jersey residents.

About Pharos Innovations

Founded in 1995, Pharos Innovations assists healthcare providers and payers in achieving next generation clinical and financial performance improvement. An innovative, device-free remote patient monitoring platform, Tel-Assurance, improves care coordination and drives dramatic clinical improvement and cost savings. Our enabling technologies proactively involve patients in their care and result in the early identification of clinical deterioration.

Tel-Assurance substantially expands the reach, efficiency and effectiveness of clients' current health management programs for complex chronic conditions. The Pharos solution is strongly validated to show measured clinical improvement and financial impact, is the recipient of the prestigious American Heart Association National Outcomes award and was selected for the first ever National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored evaluation of remote monitoring interventions. For more information visit www.pharosinnovations.com or join in on the discussion at our blog, www.thecollaborativeforum.com.

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