Portico Systems Enhances Industry's First Integrated Provider Management Solution

Portico 6.0 Combines Powerful Workflow Automation with End-to-End
Visibility to Increase Operational Efficiency and Cut Costs
PHILADELPHIA--(Business Wire)--
Portico Systems, the leader in Integrated Provider Management
solutions, today announced the launch of Portico 6.0, the newest
version of its platform, which includes a full suite of software
solutions designed specifically to help health plans more effectively
manage provider networks and relationships.

"To respond successfully to healthcare market business and
performance mandates, healthcare payers must manage their provider
relationships with greater care, efficiency, and agility than ever
before," said Janice Young(1), program director for Payer IT
Strategies at Health Industry Insights, an IDC Company. "As a result,
homegrown and disconnected information systems and fragmented business
processes provide many chances for healthcare payers to miss critical
business opportunities in the next 12-24 months. New and enhanced
provider network management solutions are now appearing in the U.S.
healthcare marketplace. Healthcare payers will place renewed priority
on investment."

Available immediately, Portico 6.0 streamlines business processes
through powerful workflow automation and seamless integration. This
unique approach increases operating efficiencies, reduces
administrative and training costs, increases provider information
reliability, improves claims accuracy and provides end-to-end
visibility. It also enhances the plan's ability to collaborate with
its providers and members through portal-based transparency.

Portico 6.0 - Enabling Operational Excellence

Portico 6.0 combines pre-built functionality with extensive
configurability to help health plans nimbly respond to market and
business pressures. Key enhancements include:

-- Out-of-the-box workflows enable the management of the provider
relationship lifecycle including recruiting, contracting,
credentialing, provider information maintenance, and provider
relationship management.

-- Analysis dashboards place comprehensive operational
intelligence at managers' fingertips. Graphical drilldown
dashboards facilitate the identification and analysis of
operational bottlenecks.

-- Visual workflow design tool that uses a drag and drop approach
to the configuration of workflows and user interfaces.

-- Online directories allow members to search for and compare
providers based upon a flexible range of criteria. Search
results are displayed on geo-coded maps and are ordered using
plan-specific rules.

-- CAQH sanctions monitoring utilizes a pre-built interface that
compares a plan's providers with CAQH's weekly Sanctions Track
report for proactive ongoing monitoring of reported sanctions
from more than 400 sources.

"U.S. healthcare is in the midst of major changes and health plans
need to be able to quickly adapt in order to maintain strong
relationships with providers and members," said Mike Flanagan, VP of
products and marketing for Portico Systems. "We're breaking new ground
with Portico 6.0 - giving health plans exactly what they need to stay
ahead in a moving market: a flexible operational infrastructure,
powerful workflow automation and a strong foundation for enabling
transparency."

Portico Systems' Provider Network Management solutions are being
used by health plans all over the country to more efficiently,
cost-effectively and accurately manage end-to-end provider operations.

Register to attend a live demonstration of Portico 6.0 by visiting
www.porticosys.com/reg_demo.html.

About Portico Systems

Portico Systems (www.porticosys.com), the leader in Integrated
Provider Management, offers health plans software that automates and
streamlines provider network processes while accelerating new revenue
streams, enhancing employee effectiveness and optimizing provider
relationships. Portico Systems is a partner company of Safeguard
Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE:SFE) www.safeguard.com.

(1) Health Industry Insights, An IDC Company "Healthcare Payer
Transparency Initiatives: Managing Provider Data" by Janice Young,
Aug., 2007

Media Contact for Portico Systems
Corporate Ink
George Robertson, 617-969-9192
grobertson@corporateink.com
or
Portico Systems
Business Development Contact:
Christopher Jones
Director of Business Development
215-358-3723
cjones@porticosys.com
or
Corporate Contact:
Allison Lattanze
Director of Marketing
215-358-3726
alattanze@porticosys.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008