Contact:
Al Lewis 781-856-3962, alewis@dismgmt.com

Wellesley, MA (February 6, 2007) — The Disease Management Purchasing Consortium (DMPC) announced today that Melissa Tobler RN, National Practice Leader for Clinical Strategies at Wachovia Insurance Services, became the first benefits consultant to be certified by DMPC in Critical Outcomes Report Analysis (CORA) for disease management and wellness.

She is the first consultant to pass a test in which actual outcomes reports are presented and must be critiqued. "The average person in the field can successfully identify about 25% of the fallacies in this 90-minute test. Ms. Tobler found 75%, well over the 60% necessary for certification. A client of Ms. Tobler can be quite confident that when she says a report from a vendor is free of error, that no other consultant could find errors. By contrast, most benefits consultants will miss most errors. In fact, the test is comprised of actual errors missed by leading benefits consulting firms."

Graham Chalfant, Wachovia Insurance Services National Employee Benefits Leader, said: Melissa embodies the corporate culture of having a critical eye for report analysis. This prevents Wachovia clients from buying and accepting overly optimistic, poorly reasoned, miscalculated ROI projections."

Beth Robinson, Human Resources Director for the City of Savannah, said: "It's no surprise to us that Melissa would be the first to be awarded this distinction. Her expertise in interpreting our health data has allowed us to develop strategies in those specific areas which need action. Her assistance has enabled us to become better managers of the City of Savannah's health plan. Melissa's contribution through solid and insightful data analysis is invaluable."

Either individuals or organizations can earn CORA certification. For an individual it is a professional credential which increasingly, those in the field will recognize as evidence of expertise in a challenging endeavor. Conversely, a firm may earn CORA certification by agreeing that all reports will be reviewed by someone with CORA certification, and won't be accepted until that person declares them to be free of identifiable errors. The CORA-certified person chosen may be an employee or a consultant or even DMPC itself. Rules are available at www.dismgmt.com/certs/cora/rules

About the Disease Management Purchasing Consortium

The Disease Management Purchasing Consortium Int'l, Inc. (DMPC) provides strategy and procurement services to support the disease management and wellness efforts of more than a hundred health plans, employers and states. The DMPC is led by Al Lewis, widely accepted as the founder and most influential leader in the disease management industry. Associate members include national health care accreditation organizations such as JCAHO and URAC, the Harvard School of Public Health, Bain & Co., Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey, and eight investment banks. DMPC also offers Certifications in Savings Measurement Validity, Small Group Outcomes Measurement, and Critical Outcomes Report Analysis. Programs and services are available at www.dismgmt.com.