Horizon Mercy Implements Ingenix's Solutions

Market research conducted by Ingenix indicates that more than 90% of surveyed health care payer organizations are in need of a simpler, easier to understand "business intelligence" tool. Additionally, respondents want a system that can be deployed throughout their organization and used with some proficiency with minimal training by a variety of personnel. The first organization to deploy Ingenix' totally Web-enabled data warehouse and business intelligence solutions is Horizon Mercy of Trenton, NJ. Recognized nationally for a variety of innovative clinical programs, Horizon Mercy is New Jersey's largest managed care organization providing health care services to Medicaid recipients and other publicly insured members.

Ingenix's InfoMiners data warehouse/decision support system is built around a series of "Star Schema," data models which transform data from Horizon Mercy's existing system into useful business information. Ingenix's advanced On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP) engine runs on top of the data models and provides business managers with user-friendly reports of key metrics -- and the ability to drill down immediately to specific and useful data. Delivering the ability to process data and generate reports with a Web-based interface will allow Horizon Mercy to assign access rights to all staff members, giving them complete control over data streams while maintaining security.

"All of the InfoMiners solutions have a Web interface for easy deployment throughout our enterprise," says Dr. Robert Robison, Chief Medical Officer at Horizon Mercy. "Our business managers will access the data warehouse via the Horizon Mercy intranet, which allows managers to get to the data they need, when they need it, right from their desktop computer."

One of the barriers that has prevented organizations such as Horizon Mercy from implementing enterprise-wide business intelligence tools has been the complexity of the user interface. Producing understandable and usable data required additional processing time during which data analysts "sliced and diced" information to generate reports that would hopefully help physicians and operational managers compare and improve practice patterns.

"The earlier version of this system produced data that required additional processing, manipulation and interpretation from technology savvy data analysts," said Michele Mercer, RN MSHSA, vice president of Decision Support and Medical Management at Ingenix. "This system puts control of the data in the hands of the people who are responsible for taking action."

All Web views of the InfoMiners platform offer an intuitive graphing capability that is linked to an interactive table of values. Horizon Mercy's business managers will be able to click on the graphical interface to modify, format and access immediate, usable reports. These non-static reports give users the resources to request reports with more than 1,000 content combinations and drill down to access relevant data. The online processing capability also saves time by allowing the user to process multiple queries or perform other functions.

"Using Ingenix's InfoMiners platform," said Robison, "we can benefit from a wealth of data. InfoMiners lets us get at it, look at it and act on it. The reason we feel so strongly about these interventions and programs of education is simple: We can either do it early and do it right, or do it later and pay more in the cost of added resources and the cost to the patient's health. We choose to do it early and do it right."

About Horizon Mercy

Horizon Mercy is a managed healthcare organization that has been serving the publicly insured in New Jersey since 1994. During this time, Horizon Mercy's membership has grown close to 200,000 members. The organizations' growth and achievement is directly attributed to the dedication of its employees and its innovative programs. Horizon Mercy is a partnership of Horizon Healthcare of NJ, Inc., a subsidiary of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (HBCBSNJ) and Mercy Health Plan, a subsidiary of Mercy Health System in Southeastern Pennsylvania. For additional information on Horizon Mercy visit the Web site at www.horizon-mercy.com.

About Ingenix Inc

Ingenix Health Intelligence, a segment of UnitedHealth Group, offers a comprehensive line of clinical and cost management solutions for healthcare payers, providers, employers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, government agencies, and others requiring quality healthcare information. The company offers data and software, publishing, and consulting products and services. For additional information about Ingenix and Ingenix products and services, contact (877) INGENIX or 877-464-3649 or visit the Web site at www.ingenix.com.

Contact Todd Hattori of Ingenix Inc, 801-537-1787, todd.hattori@ingenix.com.