Medical Benefits Administrators Leverage Web-based Clinical and Administrative Tools from MyDocOnline™ and TPABenefits, Inc. in an Effort to Impact Employee Health and Associated Costs

Self insured-employers gain access to Online Doctor Visits and healthcare tools intended to impact employee health

Round Rock, Texas, October 21, 2003 – MyDocOnline™, a provider of secure Web-based communication solutions for the healthcare industry, today announced an agreement with TPABenefits, Inc., a developer of Web-based applications for Third Party Administrators (TPAs), to link technologies in an effort to help improve the management of employee health, including associated costs.

Under the agreement, the TPA community and its self-insured clients will have access to one comprehensive offering that includes MyDocOnline™  Connect’s Online Doctor Visit and healthcare content and TPABenefits™ Web Application.  Benefit Management Administrators, Inc., a TPA Benefits client with 9000 members, will be the first to use the offering.

According to the Society of Professional Benefits Administrators, 66 percent of US workers with health and pension employee benefits are in plans using some degree of TPAs.  This partnership is the first of its kind for the TPA community.

“Our goal is to keep our employees healthy and at work,” said David Walker, president, Pavecon, a national provider of commercial pavement construction services and a client of Benefit Management Administrators.  “This offering provides us the opportunity and information we need to help manage employee health and associated costs, while giving our employees the tools they need to take a proactive role in their healthcare.”

The integrated Web-based product gives TPA plan members one channel to conveniently manage their benefit information – including claims information, documentation of provider visits and prescriptions, and schedule of benefits – in conjunction with access to their established doctors and healthcare information that may be pertinent to their particular condition.

“This is a viable approach to consumer directed healthcare,” said James Burkholder, president of TPABenefits. “Consumers want more access to timely and trusted healthcare information online and convenient access to their doctors.  An informed, active healthcare consumer will be able to make better health decisions and take a proactive role in his or her healthcare.” 

According to Burkholder, a typical face-to-face doctor visit can cost nearly three times the amount of a MyDocOnline Connect Online Doctor Visit when factoring in indirect costs such as lost productivity and time away from work, and out of pocket expenses, such as travel to and from the doctor’s office. Plan members of Benefit Management Administrators will pay a $5 co-pay for a MyDocOnline Connect Online Doctor Visit.

MyDocOnline Connect’s Online Doctor Visit enables employees to conveniently communicate with their physician via secure e-mail regarding non-urgent or chronic conditions. Employees also have access to MyDocOnline Connect’s comprehensive healthcare content, which includes information on conditions, causes, risk factors, symptoms, and diagnosis.  MyDocOnline’s content and various tools are designed to help employees understand their ailments and associated issues. 

“This partnership is a concrete example of how the payer and employer communities are working together to impact employee health,” said Kirk Schueler, CEO of MyDocOnline. “Payers, from large health plans to TPAs, are looking for ways to help reduce their claims while employers are seeking solutions to keep employees healthy. Secure Web-based technologies empower healthcare providers to improve efficiencies and communications across the healthcare community.”   

MyDocOnline Connect and TPABenefits Web Application are designed to be consistent with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

About MyDocOnline

MyDocOnline™ provides innovative tools that enable online communication across the healthcare community, enhancing efficiency and patient care. Its comprehensive product suite – MyDocOnline™ Connect, MyDocOnline™ Practice Solutions and MyDocOnline™ Dr Chart® – offers a secure communication channel between healthcare providers, their clinical and administrative partners, and their patients.

Statements in this news release containing projections or estimates of revenues, income, earnings per share, capital expenditures, capital structure, or other financial items; plans and objectives relating to future operations, products, or services; future economic performance; or assumptions underlying or relating to any such statements, are forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties.  Actual results could differ materially depending on factors such as the timing and effects of regulatory actions, the results of clinical trials, the company’s relative success developing and gaining market acceptance for new products, the outcome of significant litigation, and the effectiveness of patent protection.  Additional information regarding risks and uncertainties is set forth in the current Annual Report on Form 20-F of Aventis on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in the current Annual Report -"Document de Référence"- on file with the "Commission des Opérations de Bourse" in France.