WINSTON-SALEM, January 31, 2005 The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today that Forsyth Medical Group, an affiliate of Forsyth Medical Center, is one of only 11 physician groups in the nation to be selected to participate in a national demonstration project to determine if proactive and coordinated patient care at the physician practice level can improve health care quality and reduce costs of caring for Medicare beneficiaries. The three-year project will reward physician groups that improve patient outcomes in an efficient manner.

"Forsyth Medical Group believes that early detection and aggressive management of chronic diseases improves a patient's health and helps to avoid more serious complications," says Stephen Spare, M.D., executive vice-president, Forsyth Medical Group. "It is also an effective way to cut the costs of treatment in the longer-term by reducing the necessity for more extensive treatments that often require expensive procedures or hospitalization."

According to CMS, multi-specialty group practices with at least 200 physicians were selected for this project based on proposals they submitted describing how they would coordinate the care of Medicare beneficiaries. In addition, many of the selected practices have already developed ways to improve patient care and reduce costs of caring for patients with chronic illnesses. Collectively, Forsyth Medical Group practices treat 20,000 Medicare recipients annually.

Spare says the Forsyth Medical Group has already been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Accreditation (NCQA) for its efforts to manage chronically ill patients with diabetes and cardiac disease. Forsyth Medical Group physicians have also participated in a Novant Health system-wide initiative that received national recognition for its efforts to reduce the adverse side effects of the blood-thinning drug Coumadin.

"As the baby boom population ages, and the number of Medicare beneficiaries dramatically increases, one of our national priorities will be how Medicare can cover the massive chronic and acute healthcare needs of this population." says Spare. "If the 11 selected groups can demonstrate a measurable reduction in the cost of treatment for our chronically ill patients through more focused, coordinated care, it may lead to significant changes that help us solve that dilemma."

"We are fortunate Senator Richard Burr recognizes this projects national importance and was an advocate in bringing our proposal to the attention of CMS," says Spare. "Having his support for this initiative helps bring national attention to our goal of finding better ways to take better care of our patients over their entire lifetime."

Novant Health is a non-profit healthcare system in western North Carolina, serving people in 32 counties reaching from southern Virginia to northern South Carolina. Novant and the majority of its facilities are 501(C)3, private, community organizations.

The healthcare system consists of seven hospitals in the Triad and Charlotte markets: Forsyth Medical Center, Medical Park Hospital, and Thomasville Medical Center in the Triad market; Presbyterian Hospital, Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital, Hemby Children's Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital Matthews of the Charlotte market. Other facilities and programs of Novant Health include three philanthropic foundations, three nursing home and senior residential facilities, physician clinics, outpatient surgery and diagnostic centers, rehabilitation programs and community health outreach programs.

Novant Health has been nationally recognized as one of "10 Best Companies for Working Mothers" by Working Mother Magazine and one of the "Top 40 Family-Friendly NC Companies" by Charlotte Parent and Piedmont Parent magazines.