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Aetna and PatientsLikeMe Help Empower Members Through Collaborative Program

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Thu Feb 14, 2013 1:00pm EST

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HARTFORD, Conn. & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(Business Wire)--
Aetna (NYSE: AET) and PatientsLikeMe today announced a new program to help Aetna
members improve the way they live with various health conditions. Through a
one-year pilot program, Aetna is directing its members to PatientsLikeMe so they
can connect with others who have the same condition, and access real-world
symptom, treatment and outcome reports. 

Aetna members can now receive information about PatientsLikeMe through Aetna
Navigator, Aetna`s secure member website, and access a customized PatientsLikeMe
landing page. Aetna nurse case managers will also encourage members to use
PatientsLikeMe to learn more about specific health conditions. Aetna is the
first health insurance company to develop this type of integrated program with
PatientsLikeMe. 

"PatientsLikeMe is one of the most innovative and well-respected online patient
resources. We share a common focus to empower people to make better health care
decisions and lead healthier lives," says Susan Kosman, R.N., Aetna`s chief
nursing officer. "Some of the most useful information comes from the people who
know firsthand what it`s like to live with a disease. Our collaboration will
help us learn how Aetna members can benefit from real world information and
patient-to-patient contact to make better, more informed health decisions." 

PatientsLikeMe Executive Vice President of Marketing and Patient Advocacy
Michael Evers adds, "Aetna`s focus to build a stronger, more effective health
care system through collaboration with others makes Aetna a pioneer among payors
and the perfect ally for PatientsLikeMe. Working together, we`ll connect members
with information and resources to live better, so that patient experience
continues to propel changes in our health care system." 

PatientsLikeMe connects more than 175,000 patients who are looking to share
information on their health condition and learn from others who have similar
experiences. Patients can create and share online health profiles that capture
their disease experiences, including symptoms and treatments. This information
helps create new insights into these diseases that can help advance medicine. 

As part of the collaboration, PatientsLikeMe will share information,
de-identified in accordance with HIPAA, with Aetna about how their members are
using the website. Aetna plans to use this information to provide valuable
services and tools to its members. Aetna will not share any Personal Health
Information (PHI) or Personally Identifiable Information (PII) with
PatientsLikeMe as part of this program. 

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies,
serving approximately 37.3 million people with information and resources to help
them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a
broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance
products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral
health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities,
Medicaid health care management services and health information technology
services. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students,
part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental
units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more
information, see www.aetna.com. 

About PatientsLikeMe

PatientsLikeMe is a patient network that helps improve lives and a real-time
research platform that advances medicine. Through the network, patients connect
with others who have the same disease or condition and track and share their own
experiences. In the process, they generate data about the real-world nature of
disease that help researchers, pharmaceutical companies, regulators, providers
and nonprofits develop more effective products, services and care.
PatientsLikeMe has become a trusted source for real-world disease information
and a clinically robust resource that has published more than 25 peer-reviewed
research studies. Visit us at www.patientslikeme.com or follow us via our blog,
Twitter or Facebook.

Aetna Media Contact:
Ethan Slavin, 860-273-6095
slavine@aetna.com
or
PatientsLikeMe Media Contact:
Lori Scanlon, 617-229-6643
Mobile: 774-217-1330
lscanlon@patientslikeme.com

Copyright Business Wire 2013

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