WellMed Medical Management, Inc.

WellMed Medical Management is a diversified healthcare company, with corporate headquarters located in San Antonio, TX. George M. Rapier III, M.D. founded the company in 1990 and remains The Primary shareholder, as well as serving as company chairman and CEO. WellMed is the largest physician-owned practice management company in South Texas.

WellMed is best known for its medical clinics. As of 2009, the company operates 21 WellMed clinics in the Greater San Antonio (TX) area. Another 3 clinics are in Austin, TX, and 4 are operating the Treasure Coast region of Florida.

WellMed provides medical management services to more than 100 independent physicians' offices in Texas and Florida. These services target Medicare-eligible seniors on qualifying Medicare+Choice plans with a focus on prevention through managed care techniques. The company operates 2 in-take transition centers in San Antonio (TX) that support these physicians' offices.

WellMed specializes in disease management, medical risk management, clinical research and chronic-care business models.

WellMed employs 1,200+ people, of which more than half support clinic operations.

The company is currently servicing 83,000+ insured members, including more than 34,000 seniors under Secure HORIZONS & Evercare Plans. The 2008 revenue totaled $560.6 million and the assets for 2008 totaled $223 million, for the largest physician-owned practice management company in South Texas. Established in 1990, WellMed mostly serves Medicare-eligible seniors. The provider serves 1 in 5 Medicare-eligible seniors in the San Antonio region. WellMed has more than 30 medical clinics and affiliated physicians' offices across South Texas and along the Treasure Coast of South-East Florida. Many of the clinics include X-ray machines, laboratories (GeneRally used for blood-work purposes) and on-site pharmacies. WellMed's disease management and educational programs cover debilitating chronic illnesses such as congestive heart failure, diabetes, COPD (asthma) and ischemic heart disease.

AbOUT the Founder

WellMed Medical Management is the parent company of WellMed Medical Group; the founder, Chairman and CEO is George M. Rapier III, M.D. Dr. Rapier is a native of Dallas, Texas. He earned his medical degree from the University of Florida College of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Since 1985, Dr. Rapier has been an Associate Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, TX.

In 1990, Dr. George Rapier, M.D. founded WellMed Medical Management, which was formerly known as Princeton Medical Management Resources, as well as WellMed Medical Group. In 2006, Dr. Rapier established a personal non-profit charity: The Blake, Kymberly and George Rapier Charitable Trust. The trust, which focuses on causes that benefit children and education, has distributed nearly $3 million to local charitable causes since forming in 2006.

Business Entities

DataRap

DataRap is a patent pending system developed by WellMed and used for precise coding and documentation of medical records. The design of this systematic method could be put into operation in any healthcare environment utilizing assessment and risk adjustment, along with fee-for-service to the degree that the models are contingent upon monitoring as well as maintaining patients' health status data and using coding systems.

• DataRap is designed and intended to provide risk adjustment services by adhering to coding standards and CMS requirements. It is a method for monitoring patients' medical records through reviews by professional coding and nursing staff of health-related data from all accessible resources. It corroborates validation reviews in order to confirm and monitor suitably appropriate documentation and coding of the patient's health status. DataRap systematically analyzes and reports health-related data in order to identify health trends, risks, opportunites for development and improvement, and to further research.
• The system was put into use to be a method for monitoring and reviewing patient health-related data, confine all information necessary to describe a patient's health status, update and maintain health status information, and report or produce such information for purposes appropriate for the system. Reviews created by DataRap aid in proper coding of diagnosis and complete documentation for patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage Plans through HCC assignment, which consequently results in accurate payment.

The Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for Medicare Health Advantage Plans developed the HCC model which requires suitable coding in order to identify the actual health risk of the patient. Clear, concise documentation is a necessity in order to provide complete coding and reporting.

• CMS now bases health plan payments for patients with Medicare Advantage on health status. Every year, medical record documentation of a patient must transcribe all chronic diagnoses that have been evaluated for the patient to receive appropriate healthcare services in the year to come. ICD-9 coding must be extremely precise and to the highest level of specificity. The documentation must correspond depict the plan components along with the assessment.

Comfort Care Transportation

Door to door transportation services for patient healthcare and medical management purposes in seven metro areas throughout the Greater San Antonio area. Patients may bring along guests, but all guests must be age 12 or older. Vehicle type availabilities:

• Ambulatory - Typically smaller-sized SUVs that are low to the ground and easy to get in and out of. These vehicles have more than enough room to provide passengers with storage space for their walkers and/or wheelchairs, if necessary.
• Wheelchair Vans - Vehicles equipped with hydraulic lift systems for safe loading/unloading of wheelchair-using patients.
• Stretcher - Ambulances that are licensed to carry patients requiring BLS (Basic Life Support) services. Each ambulance is manned by 2 specially trained EMTs.

WellMed Clinical Research

WellMed Clinical Research studies are completely voluntary and are facilitated by an experienced staff of physicians, Certified Research Coordinators, Trial Coordinators and Assistants Clinical research provides seniors with the ability to undergo a variety of medical research trials. Seniors are not required to be a WellMed patient in order to partake in the clinical trials currently being offered.

WellMed's Clinical Research Department conducts studies aimed at the investigational uses of currently approved medications as well as studies on new medications. This process aids in the discovery of new medical therapies that hope to offer better treatments for chronic diseases and/or life-threatening diseases.

Bexar Imaging

A facility that offers complex MRI, X-ray and complex radiology services located in San Antonio, TX. Bexar Imaging provides state of the art equipment used for:

• MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging uses radio waves and a high profile magnetic field to provide clearly visible, detailed pictures of internal tissues and organs. MRIs have been proven to be useful for the diagnosis and evaluation of conditions in all parts of the human body, including stroke, cancer, vascular and artery diseases, as well as joint and musculoskeletal disorders.
• CT Scan - Computed Tomography uses specialized X-ray equipment in order to obtain images from various angles around the body. A computer then processes the information obtained from the images to show body organs and tissues in cross-sectional views, known as "slices."
• Ultrasound - Ultrasound scanning, or imaging, is a technique used for seeing the inside of the human body by using high frequency sound waves. These sound waves are recorded to create the images of body tissues. The information obtained from these scans can then be used to make a diagnosis, especially when used alongside other various forms of data.
• Mammography - A specific type of non-invasive, low-dose X-ray used to examine and find breast tissue irregularities. A mammogram is best used to aid in the discovery of "pin-sized" changes in breast tissue.
• Bone Density Scan - A diagnostic test used to measure mineral amounts in bones. Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA) is the most commonly used test. Bone density measurements do not measure microscopic bone structure, only minerals in the bone. Results of the scan are compared to previously-obtained measurements occurring in normal adults. Due to the fact that bone density decreases naturally with age, most older people will have lower bone density than young adults.
• X-rays - A form of electromagnetic radiation, similar to visible light. X-rays are obtained when a machine emits photons (individual particles) through the body, which are then detected by a sensitive film. Dense structures within the body, like bones, will block most of the photons and end up appearing white on developed film. Structures that appear black on developed film are known to contain air, while structures that appear in shades of gray are muscle, fat and fluids.

HealthRight

HealthRight and WellMed have been recognized by the non-profit DMAA: The Care Continuum, one of the nation's leading advocates for the promotion of effective disease management, chronic care and preventive healthcare. WellMed received the Outstanding Quality Initiative Award in 2008. HealthRight is a chronic-care program focusing on seniors with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)/Asthma, Diabetes, Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) and/or Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). Disease management is a system that coordinates health care operations through intervention and communication; specifically for populations with conditions in which patient self-care efforts are significant. Health coaches involved with the program are dedicated to reducing the risk of obtaining chronic diseases in seniors.

The purpose of HealthRight is to identify patients with chronic diseases, to manage these conditions more effectively through care coordination and education, and to decrease, prevent, or reverse the progression of chronic diseases thereby reducing the potential healthcare costs that are related to chronic illnesses.

Current programs include:

• Diabetes
• Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
• Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD)
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Pre-Disease Management
• Complex care
• Wound care

Physicians health choice

A Medicare Advantage Plan Organization offering health insurance plans in Arkansas, New Mexico, Texas and Florida. Physicians Health Choice contracts with the government agency who runs the Medicare program, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Physicians Health Choice is a physician-owned company, the doctors involved with the company took an ACTIVE role in the creation of this health plan in order to reflect each patient's specified needs.Patients are required to use doctors and specialists in the network that PHC provides because it is not a Medicare supplement policy. The Medicare Advantage Plan is currently operating in these markets:

• Texas - Austin, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Harlingen
• Arkansas - Little Rock
• New Mexico - Las Cruces
• Florida - Ft. Lauderdale

Recent Awards

• 2009, 2008 Top 50 Private Companies (San Antonio Business Journal): WellMed Medical Management has been listed as one of San Antonio's Top 50 Private Companies for the past 2 years. The most recent recognition ranked WellMed No. 8 on the list.

• 2008 Outstanding Quality Initiative, from (DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance): One of the nation's leading advocates for the promotion and endorsement of effective disease management, chronic care and preventive healthcare recognized WellMed Medical Management for its groundbreaking disease management program, HealthRight. By investing millions of dollars in value-added initiatives, HealthRight patients experienced a dramatic reduction in hospitalizations, improved lipid results and better overall health outcomes as a result of the contribution.

• 2008 Healthcare Innovator (San Antonio Business Journal): This major South Texas weekly publication awarded the company its 2008 Healthcare Heroes: Healthcare Innovator award for the introduction of the 'WellMed CARE Band', a new state-of-the-art electronic medical record device that fits on a key chain or on a simple rubber wristband.

• Fast-Track Companies of 2009 (San Antonio Business Journal): The publication ranked WellMed No.2 among the fastest-growing San Antonio-based companies with nearly $500 million in gross revenue during fiscal 2008. The fastest growing companies are identified and ranked by compounding the average percentage of revenue growth throughout the entire fiscal years of 2006-2008, in which WellMed's revenue growth percentage totaled 32.58%.

• 2009 Richard L. Doyle Award For Innovation and Leadership in Healthcare: The award recognizes Milliman Care Guidelines clients who are healthcare leaders and innovators - those using Care Guidelines to advance the delivery of optimal healthcare. WellMed won the 1st-ever Doyle Award for using evidenced based guidelines to decrease hospitalization time for patients requiring total knee replacement surgery, which happens to be one of the fastest-growing procedures among patients 45 years or older. Specifically, WellMed worked alongside an orthopedic surgeon, David Fox M.D., and Northeast Baptist Hospital in order to create a rehabilitation center - dubbed "Joint Camp" - on the recovery floor. Success of the WellMed program prompted Baptist Health System, the largest hospital system in San Antonio - with about 1,200 total knee replacement patients in 2007 - to adopt the "Joint Camp" model for its five hospitals in 2008.

WellMed Charitable Foundation

Established in 2006, the WellMed Charitable Foundation is a Non-profit organization in accordance with 501(c), a provision of the United States Internal Revenue Code that specifically corresponds with organizations that fit these descriptions: Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary, Testing for Public Safety, to Foster National or International Amateur Sports Competition, or Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals Organizations. The WellMed Charitable Foundation exclusively supports seniors and their caregivers in the Greater San Antonio (TX) community on wellness and living with illness. It is the philanthropic arm of WellMed Medical Group.

Some significant donations contributed by the WellMed Charitable Foundation include:

• Alamo Caregiver TeleConnection: In April 2009, the WellMed Charitable Foundation was awarded a $600,000 grant from the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation - initial supporter of Aging with Dignity - one of the largest private foundations in the United States. Under their Family and Information Caregivers Program, this grant will provide caregiver education and social interaction using the simplicity of telephone technology. It is a partnership with the Alamo Service Connection, the three local Leeza's Places(Leeza Gibbons) by WellMed, AACOG Bexar Area Agency on Aging, Jewish Family Service and the City of San Antonio. For more information on the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation, please see http://www.hjweinbergfoundation.org.

• Leeza's Place At WellMed/Leeza's Place By WellMed: The Foundation sponsored the very first Leeza's Places. These free community resource centers support caregivers and those recently diagnosed with debilitating conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, chronic lung disease and heart disease. For more information visit http://www.leezasplace.org.

• Free Flu Shots: The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District received $250,000 to offer free flu vaccines across the Bexar county population in 2007 and an additional $100,000 in 2008. This allowed an additional 42,000 flu shots to be provided and permissible in a two-year period than what could have been provided by Metro Health alone.

• Senior Outreach: In 2008, WellMed partnered with the City of San Antonio's Department Of Community Initiatives to offer free flu shot clinics at more than 30 events around the San Antonio area, most of which occurred at senior nutrition centers. In 2009, the Foundation funded a campaign promoting free flu shots for seniors that are bound to their homes and to make them aware of various social services available through the City of San Antonio.

• Elvira Cisneros Senior Community Center by WellMed: In Fall 2008, a senior center was opened in South San Antonio for all seniors 60 years and over in the Greater San Antonio area. The center is named after the mother of former Mayor Henry Cisneros, who is listed in the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. The community center features exercise equipment and programs, dance and yoga classes, a health station, as well as low cost meals provided through a partnership with the City of San Antonio's Department of Community Initiatives.

• Bienestar: The WellMed Charitable Foundation and the Blake, Kymberly and George Rapier Charitable Trust are funding a three-year, $750,000 program to reduce the risk of obesity and diabetes in the South San Antonio Independent School District. The program works with 18,000 students, teachers, food service staff and parents from South San Antonio, focusing on increasing daily exercise and consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grain products.

• Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe: The Foundation along with the Blake, Kymberly and George Rapier Charitable Trust awarded a $61,000 grant in 2007 to El Paso based La Fe. La Fe operates a comprehensive community wellness network that includes senior programs, a prep school, after-school care, parent education and health clinics that provide medical and dental services to poor, largely minority communities.

• The GIVE Program: WellMed employees are encouraged to give back to the communities in which they work and live. The GIVE program allows employees to directly contribute to Foundation support charities through deductions from their payroll.

External links

• Physicians Health Choice
• Northeast Baptist Hospital
• DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance
• 'NSide M.D., San Antonio Medical Journal''
• San Antonio Express News (media coverage)
• "IncBizNet": The Online Home for Successful Business Companies
• KENS 5 TV: WellMed Virtual Colonoscopy Technology
• CBS/FOX 12 TV - Health Watch: WellMed Clinical Research