Legal Issues
The News Monitor Sunbeam to Sue the AMA Over Sponsorship Deal
The Sunbeam-AMA rift continues. Responding to the "AMA's refusal to honor its contractual commitments" to sell its seal of approval to nine consumer products by the manufacturer, Sunbeam (Delray Beach, Fla.) announced that it has asked the Federal District Court in Chicago to enforce the terms of the five-year arrangement.
In a statement to the press, Sunbeam's Chairman Al Dunlap blasted the AMA for reneging on its contract and called into question the organization's integrity.
"If the AMA is to stand for integrity and honoring commitments, then it must honor its contract with Sunbeam. The AMA initially approached Sunbeam with this worthwhile project. We negotiated in good faith for months, signed a contract and held a joint press conference to announce the agreement. The AMA cannot just change its mind and expect to walk away from our agreement because of adverse publicity at the AMA...it's not above the law."
This latest power move generated ink from the New York Times and Bloomberg Press. (Sunbeam, 212/885-0353)
Health Plan Campaigns
New Specialist Program Provides On-The-Spot Referrals
Cigna HealthCare of Southern California, based in Glendale, is looking to boost its member satisfaction with a new specialist referral program called "Cigna Access Advantage" that will be marketed as the on-the-spot alternative to accessing specialists. The program encourages primary care physicians (PCP) to schedule a specialist appointment before the member leaves the PCP's office. PCPs will make referrals to specialists within their own medical group.
About 300,000 of Cigna's 415,000 Southern California members are represented by medical and independent physician association (IPA) groups participating in Cigna's new program. Bud Volderding, president of Cigna Healthcare of California, highlighted Access Advantages three competitive advantages over other HMOs:
- the PCP's role is preserved;
- members, employer- or medical groups are not charged any additional fees; and
- ongoing customer satisfaction surveys will track member response to the program. (Cigna, 818/500-6948)
Aetna Commits $7M To Educate Women About Heart Disease
Aetna, based in Hartford, Ct., is earmarking $7 million for a heart disease awareness campaign that will target women (25 and over) about the risks of heart disease and stroke, the leading cause of death among this target.
The effort will fund the American Heart Association's (AHA) National Women's Heart Disease and Stroke Campaign that targets women and their physicians and represents the largest commitment by any healthcare benefits company to a woman's health issue, according to Aetna President Richard Huber.
The multimillion-dollar effort will address how pervasive heart disease is among women, especially compared to cancer. Although heart disease and stroke account for twice as many deaths as cancer among women, 61% of women erroneously regard cancer as the greatest threat to their health, according to a recent AHA survey.
The campaign will feature consumer and professional education efforts as well as grassroots outreach initiatives with communities nationwide. The campaign will also target African-American and Hispanic communities, where the educational needs are greater. (Aetna, 215/283-6890)
Interactive Ventures
CondeNet Launches Online Women's Health Site with P&G
Nutrition-conscious women are the latest target of a joint, first-time online effort between CondeNet, a unit of New York-based Advance Publications, Inc. (the Conde Nast organization) and Procter & Gamble [PRGSV] called PHYS (http://www.phys.com). The customized site targets women 18-49 and is capable of creating personal nutrition profiles to promote healthy lifestyles.
PHYS' editorial content will be original, drawing on research findings from organizations like the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and occasionally borrowing some health-related content from Self, Glamour, Allure, Mademoiselle and Vogue magazines. The site is looking to attract consumer advertisers that target women (P&G's ad arrangement is nonexclusive). (CondeNet, 212/297-1838)
Patients Get Wired With Recovery Info
Patient information efforts are getting an interactive boost with a new customized in-hospital TV system and the World Wide Web. Healthway Interactive Inc. (Austin, Tex.), a leading provider of interactive education, information and operational support for the hospital industry, recently linked with Menlo Park, Calif.-based Diba Inc., a supplier of information appliance technology, to bring personalized, real-time health and medical information to patients via the Internet.
Hospital patients can use the customized TV system and Web browser while in their rooms, to access information specific to their illness; receive recovery advice; and surf the Web for entertainment purposes.
In addition, hospital guests can access this health information from a waiting room. The customized TV and hospital-wide wiring system ranges from $500,000 to $800,000, according to Holland Brown, Healthway's director of engineering. (Healthway Interactive Inc., 512/502-3620)