Blue Cross Blue Shield Tennessee Selects ViPS' MCSource

ViPS, a national leader in healthcare information technology solutions, announced a licensing agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee to put in place MCSource, ViPS' premier decision support solution for managing the cost, use and quality of health services.

The multi-year contract, generating over 3 million dollars, will help Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee address critical clinical and financial issues such as quality of care, HEDIS reporting, provider report cards, data analysis, business performance, disease management and operational inefficiencies. The seamless interoperability from the MCSource interface with The TriZetto Group Inc's Erisco Facets, an industry-leading client/server solution for payer managed care administration, will also ensure cost-effective administration.

"Covering over one and a half million lives and operating multiple lines of business throughout the state, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee was aggressively looking for a one-stop decision support solution that will assist us in improving quality of care and managing the costs of health care services," said Dr. Steven Coulter, senior vice president and chief medical officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee. "With MCSource, we expect significant savings for our customers as a result of streamlined processes, reduced inefficiencies, Web-based report publishing and better medical management programs. MCSource will also allow us to more accurately understand the level of care our constituents receive."

MCSource is a single-source medical management solution for enterprise-wide healthcare information management -- enabling accurate medical, quality, financial and marketing decision-making. MCSource's vital foundation is a high-performance data warehouse that consistently reformats and edits data that is stored in different ways and in different applications. Its scalable, client-server architecture (offered in Oracle, DB2 Universal Database and Red Brick) allows data and system resources to be shared throughout an organization, including Internet and Intranet access. It features fully integrated analytical and Web-based applications for a true end-to-end solution -- from data integrity and transformation to Internet-published reports.

"We are pleased to add Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee to our growing customer base of prominent managed care organizations," said Jenny Morgan, president and chief executive officer of ViPS. "MCSource fully integrates a data warehouse, analytic methodologies, software and the Internet to deliver powerful information management and analysis that is so vital to health plans like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee."

"MCOs must have sophisticated solutions which can operate together seamlessly," said Jim Donnelly, vice president of business development, TriZetto. "Our alliance with ViPS allows us to provide customers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee a fully integrated approach that effortlessly collects data from Facets and maps it directly into MCSource's data mart for easy accessibility."

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee

For more than 50 years, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee remains Tennessee's leader in healthcare financing as a not-for-profit company. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee's service area includes all 95 counties in Tennessee. More information about Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee is available at www.bcbst.com.

About TriZetto

The TriZetto Group Inc is an information technology and services company focused on the healthcare industry. The company hosts and licenses software and provides e-business platforms, servicing approximately 600 customers with more than 90 million enrollees. TriZetto's application service provider (ASP) unit hosts a broad selection of applications from multiple vendors for a predictable monthly fee. All of TriZetto's ASP offerings are configured for use over the Internet. TriZetto's HealthWeb technology allows all healthcare participants -- health plans, providers, employers and members -- to exchange information and conduct business over the Internet. HealtheWare, the software engines unit, develops and licenses premium Erisco and RIMS applications for payers and benefits administrators. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, TriZetto can be reached at 949-719-2200, www.trizetto.com.

About ViPS Inc

ViPS, The iTechnology of Healthcare, is a leading provider of innovative, integrated and intelligent technology solutions for the healthcare industry. A privately held firm headquartered in the Baltimore-Washington, DC metro area, ViPS addresses key financial and clinical requirements of the healthcare business with its advanced antifraud software, auto-adjudication and medical management decision support software. The company also delivers exceptional value with its application service provider (ASP) services, Web-enabled collaborative software and consulting expertise. In operation for more than 20 years, ViPS is a strong and stable IT provider offering a unique blend of technology and healthcare expertise and serves a diverse mix of commercial and government customers nationwide, from large health plans and major managed care organizations to leading federal agencies and contractors. For more information on ViPS, visit www.vips.com, email webinfo@vips.com or call 888-289-8477.

Contact Jana Von Bramer of ViPS, 410-832-8300.