Four New Health Systems Partner with Healthways to Bring Dr. Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease to More Patients

<p>By a <org>News Reporter-Staff News</org> Editor at <org>Insurance Weekly News</org> -- Four new health systems will partner with <org value="NASDAQ-NMS:HWAY" idsrc="xmltag.org">Healthways, Inc.</org> (NASDAQ: HWAY), to bring the nationally renowned <person>Dr. Ornish's</person> Program for Reversing Heart Disease™ (Ornish Reversal Program) to patients in their communities. The Ornish Reversal Program is the first program scientifically proven to not only treat but reverse heart disease through comprehensive lifestyle changes. Since late 2013, when <org value="NASDAQ-NMS:HWAY" idsrc="xmltag.org">Healthways</org> and Dr. <person>Dean Ornish</person> joined forces to expedite program rollout, 17 hospitals and health systems have added the program to their roster of treatment options for heart disease patients.</p><p><org value="NASDAQ-NMS:HWAY" idsrc="xmltag.org">Healthways</org> has finalized new agreements with <org value="ACORN:3920395466" idsrc="xmltag.org">Beacon Health System</org>, <location value="LU/us.in.souend" idsrc="xmltag.org">South Bend, Indiana</location>; 'Ekahi Health System, <location value="LU/us.hi.honolu" idsrc="xmltag.org">Honolulu, Hawaii</location>; <org value="ACORN:3360918383" idsrc="xmltag.org">Hunterdon Medical Center</org>, <location value="LU/us.nj.fleton" idsrc="xmltag.org">Flemington, New Jersey</location>; and <org>St. Vincent's HealthCare</org>, <location value="LU/us.fl.jckvil" idsrc="xmltag.org">Jacksonville, Florida</location>.</p><p>"By offering the Ornish Reversal Program at our hospitals, we are honoring our commitment to provide innovative healthcare and well-being services of the highest quality at the greatest value," said <person>Michael J. O'Neil</person>, chief administrative officer, <org value="ACORN:3920395466" idsrc="xmltag.org">Beacon Health System</org>. "Adding a program that reverses the effects of heart disease through lifestyle changes dramatically improves the overall health and well-being of our patients, while moving us into the next era of cardiovascular care."</p><p>The Ornish Reversal Program is based on more than three decades of research showing that the progression of coronary artery disease and other chronic conditions can be treated and reversed through lifestyle changes, including exercise, stress management, nutrition and community support. The program and <person>Dr. Ornish's</person> research have been featured widely in national media, including cover stories in Newsweek, TIME, <org value="ACORN:3064529958" idsrc="xmltag.org">U.S. News & World Report</org> and <org value="NYSE:NYT" idsrc="xmltag.org">The New York Times</org>. His research has been published in the leading peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals.</p><p>"I'm thrilled and honored to be working with these new sites that will be offering our lifestyle medicine program for reversing heart disease and other chronic conditions," said <person>Dr. Ornish</person>. "My colleagues and I at <org value="NASDAQ-NMS:HWAY" idsrc="xmltag.org">Healthways</org> are grateful for the opportunity to work with them to create a new paradigm of healthcare that empowers patients with knowledge and support to transform their lives."</p><p>The Ornish Reversal Program offers health systems an alternative to existing treatment methodologies such as drugs or surgery at a time when the prevalence and cost of cardiac disease are rising. Clinicians and patients alike are increasingly interested in lifestyle change as treatment that addresses the underlying causes of illness rather than just managing the disease. In addition to reversing heart disease, the Ornish Reversal Program has been proven to be effective in the management of Type 2 diabetes, early-stage prostate cancer and other chronic diseases.</p><p>"Patients with heart disease and its related chronic conditions are among the biggest consumers of healthcare resources," said <person value="APIN:0331425901">Ben R. Leedle</person>, Jr., president and chief executive officer of <org value="NASDAQ-NMS:HWAY" idsrc="xmltag.org">Healthways</org>. "By addressing the root cause of their illness rather than simply treating the symptoms, we see a dramatic improvement in quality of life while decreasing utilization of high-cost treatments such as surgery. With each new site to offer the Ornish Reversal Program, we are demonstrating that lifestyle medicine works for patients and for healthcare providers as they address market demand for more accountable care."</p><p>In 2011, based on <person>Dr. Ornish's</person> research, <org>Congress</org> and the <org>Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services</org> (CMS) approved <org>Medicare</org> reimbursement for individuals enrolled in the Ornish Reversal Program under a new category, "Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation." The program is currently reimbursed nationwide by <org>Medicare</org> and by commercial payers in 17 states, including <org>Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield</org>, <org value="ACORN:2713339914" idsrc="xmltag.org">Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia</org>, Hawai'i <org>Medical Services Association</org> (HMSA), the <org>West Virginia Public Employee Insurance Agency</org> (WVPEIA) and WellPoint under its subsidiaries, <org>Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield</org>, <org>Anthem Blue Cross</org>, Empire BlueCross BlueShield and <org>Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia</org>. In addition, <org>Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield</org>, <org value="ACORN:2713339914" idsrc="xmltag.org">Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia</org>, WVPEIA and HMSA have expanded their coverage to include diabetes and other risk factors for heart disease for qualified individuals. About <person>Dean Ornish</person>, <person>M.D. Dean Ornish</person>, M.D., is the founder and president of the non-profit <org>Preventive Medicine Research Institute</org> and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of <location value="LS/us.ca" idsrc="xmltag.org">California</location>, <location value="LU/us.ca.sanfrn" idsrc="xmltag.org">San Francisco</location>. <person>Dr. Ornish</person> received his M.D. from the <org value="ACORN:4086618257" idsrc="xmltag.org">Baylor College of Medicine</org>, was a clinical fellow in medicine at <org value="ACORN:3595432114" idsrc="xmltag.org">Harvard Medical School</org>, and completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at the <org value="ACORN:4022105003" idsrc="xmltag.org">Massachusetts General Hospital</org>. He earned a B.A. in humanities summa cum laude from the <org>University of Texas</org> in <location value="LU/us.tx.austin" idsrc="xmltag.org">Austin</location>, where he gave the baccalaureate address.</p><p><person>Dr. Ornish</person> was appointed by President <person>Barack Obama</person> to the <org>White House Advisory Group on Prevention</org>, Health Promotion, and <org>Integrative and Public Health</org> in 2010 and, previously, by <person>President Clinton</person> to the <org>White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy</org> in 2000. He chaired the <org>Google Health Advisory Council 2007</org>-2009.</p><p>He has received numerous national and professional awards including being honored by <org>LIFE magazine</org> as "one of the fifty most influential members of his generation," being recognized as "one of the most interesting people of 1996" by People; and having been described in <org>Forbes magazine</org> as "one of the seven most powerful teachers in the world."</p><p>The Ornish diet, a critical component of the Ornish Program, was rated #1 for heart health by <org value="ACORN:3064529958" idsrc="xmltag.org">U.S. News & World Report</org> in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. About Healthways Healthways is the largest independent global provider of well-being improvement solutions. Dedicated to creating a healthier world one person at a time, the Company uses the science of behavior change to produce and measure positive change in well-being for our customers, which include employers, integrated health systems, hospitals, physicians, health plans, communities and government entities. We provide highly specific and personalized support for each individual and their team of experts to optimize each participant's health and productivity and to reduce health-related costs. Results are achieved by addressing longitudinal health risks and care needs of everyone in a given population. The Company has scaled its proprietary technology infrastructure and delivery capabilities developed over 30 years and now serves approximately 68 million people on four continents. Learn more at <a href="http://www.healthways.com">www.healthways.com</a>.</p><p>Keywords for this news article include: Surgery, Hospital, <org>Medicare</org>, Cardiology, Legal Issues, Health Policy, Heart Disease, <org value="NASDAQ-NMS:HWAY" idsrc="xmltag.org">Healthways Inc.</org>, Cardiovascular Diseases, Heart Disorders and Diseases.</p><p>Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2015, NewsRx LLC</p>