PROFNET EXPERT ALERTS: Health & Living

1. Entertainment: What the Disney-Marvel Buyout Means for the Industry
2. Entertainment: What Kind of Return Can Disney Expect from Marvel Deal?
3. Health: Chemical Dependency and Depression Can Be Triggered by Tragedy
4. Health: Role of Genetic Counseling and Testing
5. Health: Autumn-Proofing Your Skin
6. Health: The New Breed of Relaxation Beverages
7. Healthcare Management: Creative Approaches to Control Healthcare Costs
8. Healthcare Management: Save Money Accurately Estimating Patient Bills

1. ENTERTAINMENT: WHAT THE DISNEY-MARVEL BUYOUT MEANS FOR THE INDUSTRY.
MICHAEL USLAN, film producer, author and national lecturer, is available to
discuss what the Disney-Marvel buyout means for the entertainment industry:
"I'd put this on par with Disney's acquisition of ABC. How smart is this for
Disney? Smarter than smart. Not only do they now control one of the most
attractive slates of intellectual property in the world, but they also
eliminate one of their chief competitors. How smart is this for Marvel? It's
potentially a big win for Marvel, as many of the films on their slate featured
second-tier characters. How well those characters do is a crap shoot. Do they
fit together? I'm not sure if Bob Iger sifted through the roster of thousands
of Marvel characters, but they really are not Disney-style characters at all.
Marvel has a line of creator-owned comics, which is a clear contradiction of
Disney's 'we must own everything outright' mentality. There will be some
compatibility issues." Uslan was involved in films such as "Batman," "Batman
Returns," "Batman Forever," "Batman & Robin," "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm,"
"Constantine," "National Treasure," "The Spirit," "Batman Begins" and the
second highest-grossing film of all time, "The Dark Knight." As a producer, he
is one of the highest-grossing movie producers of all time, with "The Dark
Knight" alone having already passed the $1 billion mark through box office
receipts alone. News Contact: Rachel Friedman, rachel@newsandexperts.com
Phone: +1-727-443-7115, ext. 206 (9/1/09)
2. ENTERTAINMENT: WHAT KIND OF RETURN CAN DISNEY EXPECT FROM THE MARVEL DEAL?
IAN FORD, president and founder of UNDERCOVER TOURIST, an official vendor of
tickets to Walt Disney World, has over 17 years of experience with the
entertainment giant, and can provide a unique perspective on how this deal
will affect Disney's overall business, including theme parks: "Disney acquired
Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion in cash and stock, but what kind of return
can Disney expect from this deal? This could provide a wonderful opportunity
for Disney to attract more teenage boys to their brand as long as they respect
the fact that Wolverine is not Mickey Mouse. Most teenage boys do not get
excited about Mickey Mouse, but they will get excited about the Silver
Surfer." News Contact: Amanda Abbot, amanda@anthonybarnum.com Phone: +1-512-
329-2767 Web site: http://www.undercovertourist.com (9/4/09)
3. HEALTH: CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY AND DEPRESSION CAN BE TRIGGERED BY
TRAGEDY/STRESS. DR. JASON POWERS, M.D., addictionologist and chief medical
officer for SPIRIT LODGE, a luxury private drug and alcohol rehabilitation
center in Texas, can provide expert information to shed light on the recent
tragic death of Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM, who was found dead in his apartment
last weekend reportedly lying next to a crack pipe, cocaine and anti-anxiety
medicine Xanax: "Many times, those struggling with addiction are also
suffering from psychiatric disorders such as depression. Goldstein had
admitted to using frequently in his 20s, but was now said to be sober. Co-
occurring disorders such as chemical dependency and depression can be
triggered again after tragedy or stress, such as surviving a plane crash."
Powers can provide medical expertise on any upcoming article related to this
topic. News Contact: Carina Van Son, carina@spiritlodge.com Phone: +1-512-921-
0141 (9/4/09)
4. HEALTH: ROLE OF GENETIC COUNSELING AND TESTING. BETH N. PESHKIN, MS, CGC,
is an associate professor of oncology and the senior genetic counselor at
Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER,
Washington, D.C.: "For many individuals, a comprehensive analysis of the
family history and personal risk factors can be much more pivotal for risk
assessment than genetic testing. Spending money on a gym membership, and using
it, can be a bigger payoff for some people than pursuing direct-to-consumer
genetic tests, which often provide results that are clinically meaningless."
Peshkin can address the role of genetic counseling and testing, and discuss
how cutting-edge genetic tests don't always deliver anticipated benefits. News
Contact: Tressa Iris Kirby, tk275@georgetown.edu Phone: +1-202-687-8865
(9/4/09)
5. HEALTH: AUTUMN-PROOFING YOUR SKIN. JOSHUA FOX, M.D., a leading
dermatologist, founder of ADVANCED DERMATOLOGY in New York and Long Island,
and a spokesperson for the AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY: "As summer turns
to autumn and the green leaves turn red, yellow and orange, your skin also
changes with the season. While the autumn weather may encourage outdoor
activities, your skin will retain less moisture because of the cooler, drier
air. The same happens indoors as the heat goes on and up. Key symptoms of
'autumn skin' include dryness, fine lines, dull and sallow skin tone, sun and
age spots, flaking and irritation, as well as the flare-up of some chronic
conditions. Your skin can remain beautiful and glowing if you treat it
correctly and make some minor adjustments to your beauty regime to account for
the change of seasons. During the fall, the skin needs extra nourishment and
protection. Three things that everyone should do to protect their skin in the
autumn include drinking lots of water to remain hydrated, applying moisturizer
before going outside to give it time to be absorbed and, importantly,
continuing to use a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15." News Contact:
Melissa Chefec, mchefec@gmail.com Phone: +1-203-968-6625 (9/4/09)
6. HEALTH: THE NEW BREED OF RELAXATION BEVERAGES. TRAVIS HOLLMAN, Dallas-
based co-founder of the new relaxation beverage VACATION IN A BOTTLE (ViB),
can talk about this new trend in the beverage sector: "Relaxation beverages
use L-Theanine, the same amino acid found in green tea. It provides a calming
effect and enhances focus without making the consumer sleepy. The category is
growing fast in response to America's growing disenchantment with energy
drinks. It is important to note that within the relaxation segment, there is a
growing divide between L-Theanine based beverages and those that contain
melatonin." Hollman has interview experience with local, regional and national
media, and is quick to respond to media. News Contact: Amy Power,
amy@powerpublicrelations.com Phone: +1-214-618-3318 Cell: +1-214-693-2146
(9/1/09)
7. HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT: COMPANIES TAKING CREATIVE APPROACHES TO CONTROL
HEALTHCARE COSTS. CHRIS BOYCE, CEO of VIRGIN HEALTHMILES: "Even as the federal
healthcare reform debate continues, private-sector companies are stepping up
to take a leadership role in controlling healthcare costs. Wellness in the
workplace is about avoiding those preventable diseases that account for 75
percent of our nation's healthcare costs. There are hundreds of companies
taking creative approaches to solving this critical problem. Some have pitted
executives against staff in friendly competitions to get people walking more.
Others pay employees to reward them for healthy behaviors." Boyce can share
fresh survey data marking September's National Employee Wellness Month, and
why he thinks our nation needs to look at private sector innovation and
prevention to make healthcare reform really work. Also available for comment
are HR managers and employees, and a representative from STOP Obesity
Alliance. News Contact: Marian Hughes, mhughes@tieronepr.com Phone: +1-708-
246-0083 (9/1/09)
8. HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT: PRACTICES CAN SAVE MONEY BY ACCURATELY ESTIMATING
PATIENT BILLS. BARRY BYRD is president of SECURE EDI, a healthcare IT firm in
Charlotte, N.C., that is pioneering a number of real-time solutions for
providers and payers: "A recent survey of doctors and practice managers
revealed that half of all practices are unable to accurately estimate what
their patients' bills will be at the time of treatment. This disconnect often
leads to lost revenue from uncollected payments and discrepancies following
insurance adjustments. The problems that many practice managers face today can
be easily addressed with an integrated system that provides direct, online
access to the terms and conditions of hundreds of different health plans. This
capability provides an immediate savings for providers who may have lost money
through unpaid claims. Online, real-time functionality helps the practice
operate efficiently by eliminating lost time and money from staff members who
must send out additional billings to patients who could have settled their
accounts immediately following care if only detailed plan information had been
available." News Contact: Michael Henry, mhenry@wrayward.com Phone: +1-704-
926-1364 (9/1/09)
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