WASHINGTON, May 14 /PRNewswire/ via Individual Inc. -- First came Oxford Health Plans with its strategy to offer a supplementary menu of alternative medicine healthcare products to its members in the New York metropolitan area. Now enter CWIPA with its similarly unique package of both traditional and alternative healthcare products for the managed care market in Florida and then the nation.
CWIPA -- Complete Wellness Independent Physician Association, Inc. is one step ahead of the game. According to recent surveys, 70% of HMOs have reported an increase in requests for alternative healthcare therapies from their members and 58% of the HMOs said they planned to offer alternative care therapies to their members in the next one to two years. Complete Wellness Centers, Inc. (Nasdaq: CMWL; CMWLW), the publicly traded physician management company, is currently building a nationwide chain of name-brand medical centers that incorporate traditional and alternative healthcare services and products. To date, the company manages or has contracts to manage, close to 87 medical centers, approximately 27 in Florida.
CWIPA, being introduced in Florida and then in the Carolinas and the mid-Atlantic states next year, will create new provider access for members of managed care organizations (MCOs). CWIPA will utilize the Complete Wellness Medical Centers, Inc. network. These medically integrated clinics have state licensed M.D.s who practice as the primary care physicians and have been joined by a chiropractor to provide high quality healthcare services. New centers are expected to be placed in fitness clubs and other locations in the near future.
"Research shows that people would much rather see a physician in a healthful setting," said C. Thomas McMillen, chairman and CEO of Complete Wellness Centers, Inc. "More physicians belong to an IPA (Independent Physician Association) and have signed up with at least one or two HMOs. What we have to offer is the best of the traditional healthcare delivery system with the added attraction of supplementary alternative medical practices and products."
This is how it will affect the major players:
-- For HMO Members
They will be able to partake in the new medical structure that offers a unique blend of traditional and alternative medicine practices and products. Not only will the consumer have access to the traditional medical physician, who will serve as the primary care physician and give referrals to medical specialists like neurologists, but also to alternative healthcare providers.
This innovative medical healthcare structure will be found at new wellness locations, or access points, as the industry calls them. CWIPA will utilize existing physician networks as well as the network of Complete Wellness Medical Centers, some being located in shopping malls and fitness centers. -- For HMOs
For the first time in the Florida market, HMOs will be able to offer their members a different health plan, one that offers alternative practices at convenient wellness locations. It will offer a competitive advantage for participating HMOs.
In addition, CWIPA will operate as one of the medical profession's new acronyms. As an integrated delivery system network, CWIPA offers HMOs provider access to markets which have been historically closed to managed care, new management protocols resulting in effective cost containment, access to new marketing initiatives and the availability to alternative medicine practices for disease management programs.
-- For Physicians
With the combination of Complete Wellness Centers, Inc. and CWIPA, physicians have the opportunity to enjoy all of the advantages of a physician practice management company while still remaining an autonomous practicing physician, yet securing managed care business. These physicians will also benefit from the Complete Wellness Centers Medical network of new locations in fitness centers and shopping centers.
-- For Chiropractors
Member chiropractors will still own their practices while being able to join with physicians and other traditional healthcare practitioners. It is an innovative way for chiropractors to participate in a fully integrated managed care system.
This will occur because Complete Wellness Centers, Inc. was able to attract one of Florida's top managed care contracting teams. Jason Patchen, formerly corporate vice president for Heritage Medical Systems, Inc. in Tampa, Fla., brings with him a team of four other healthcare professionals to help form, structure and operate CWIPA. Mr. Patchen and his team will be working with Complete Wellness Centers, Inc. senior vice president of operations, Eric Kaplan, D.C., to design the first ever alternative/traditional integrated medical delivery system. = Mr. Patchen will join Complete Wellness Centers, Inc. as president and chief operating officer of CWIPA, the new subsidiary that will design and operate the Complete Wellness integrated delivery system plan, on June 1, 1997. Patchen's team has already proven its abilities in Florida, securing managed care contracts covering 30,000 full risk lives during the past nine months.
"Jason and his team see an opportunity to create a cutting edge healthcare delivery plan that is based on Complete Wellness Medical Centers nationwide name-brand chain. Some of our medical centers are in shopping malls and new centers are soon expected to be located within fitness clubs," said C. Thomas McMillen, chairman and chief executive officer of Complete Wellness Centers, Inc. "Not only will we offer a new blend of traditional and alternative healthcare, we will also create convenient access points for our patients. Jason and his team have the experience in developing integrated delivery systems that will be important to our growth and success within the industry."
"It has always been this company's goal to create a managed care plan for our national network. The addition of Jason Patchen and his team, once again demonstrates this company's commitment to managed care," McMillen added.
Complete Wellness Centers develops multidisciplinary medical clinics that offer, at one location, traditional healthcare providers, such as medical physicians, osteopaths, chiropractors and physical therapists, and alternative healthcare providers such as acupuncturists and massage therapists. Complete Wellness Centers, Inc. currently manages or has contracts to manage 87 wellness centers in 18 states. Its stock trades on the Nasdaq Small Cap market under the symbols, CMWL and CMWLW.
SOURCE Complete Wellness Centers, Inc.
/CONTACT: C. Thomas McMillen, chairman and CEO, or Victoria Harris, corporate communications, both of Complete Wellness Centers, Inc., 202-543-6800/ (CMWL CMWLW) =
[Copyright 1997, PR Newswire]