The Everett Clinic, First Choice Health, Group Health Cooperative, Premera Blue Cross, Regence BlueShield, Providence Health System and Swedish Health Services join to offer a single, secure way to access their provider web sites

SEATTLE, WA -- October 8, 2003 -- OneHealthPort - a Seattle-based healthcare security service offering health professionals a secure portal to the online services offered by leading local health organizations - today announced the general availability of its service through its web site, www.onehealthport.com.

With OneHealthPort, healthcare professionals have a single way to sign on to secure local healthcare sites to check claims status, verify eligibility, manage referrals, and access clinical information online. As of September 30, 625 healthcare organizations had already registered to use OneHealthPort's free service.

The first organizations to launch web sites with OneHealthPort security were Premera Blue Cross, on August 1, 2003, and Regence BlueShield and Asuris Northwest Health, on September 8, 2003. First Choice Health (for its administrative services line of business), Group Health Cooperative and Providence Health System will launch their secure sites with OneHealthPort security in the coming months.

OneHealthPort provides the security for these sites, including registering and authenticating users, and issuing a digital ID to each subscriber that can be used at all of the participating sites. OneHealthPort partnered with beTRUSTed, the premiere global provider of security and trust services, to provide a HIPAA-compliant security infrastructure to protect the confidentiality of online health information. In addition to providing hosting for OneHealthPort's secure infrastructure, Betrusted implemented registration and authentication services for the site.

"The founders of OneHealthPort - usually competing in the marketplace - have taken an enormous step by collaborating to create and use OneHealthPort in order to help local healthcare organizations transition from paper to electronic solutions," said Gary Gannaway, president and chief executive officer of First Choice Health and OneHealthPort's board chair. "This joint venture represents a win for the entire local healthcare community."

"The Everett Clinic has seen real value from OneHealthPort already. Currently, 50 of our staff access Premera and Regence's sites every day with their OneHealthPort ID to get immediate answers and speed the delivery of care," said Rick Cooper, chief executive officer of The Everett Clinic - a 200-physician multi-specialty group in Snohomish County. "As more and more web sites become accessible with the OneHealthPort ID, the value will just keep increasing."

"Now, healthcare professionals will not need to juggle logins, passwords, and user agreements for different health plan and hospital web sites - their OneHealthPort ID will give them access to all participating web sites," said Richard Rubin, CEO of OneHealthPort.

For physician offices and hospitals, using OneHealthPort is simple and available free of charge. Benefits also include:

• Saving time and money by going online - Instead of sitting on hold or waiting for a fax, healthcare professionals can now go online to find the information they need in real time on the web.
• Managing all online services in one place - With OneHealthPort, healthcare professionals need only register one time for a single digital ID that will give them access to all participating web sites. For healthcare organizations providing online content, OneHealthPort offers a way for them to improve customer service by streamlining operations for themselves and their provider customers. Benefits also include:
• Realizing cost savings - Instead of investing in their own registration and authentication systems, participating organizations receive a standardized security solution for their site at "bulk buy" rates.
• Simplifying access and encouraging use of online services - With its common security solution, OneHealthPort eliminates the need for multiple registrations, log-ins and contracts. By providing most of the local online healthcare content they need in one place, OneHealthPort helps encourage healthcare providers to go online.

OneHealthPort's security service is available for all healthcare organizations that wish to provide secure web sites to local healthcare providers. These organizations – health plans, hospitals and others with online content for healthcare providers – pay to operate the service. For OneHealthPort subscribers accessing online content, the service is provided free of charge.

About OneHealthPort
OneHealthPort is a Seattle-based healthcare security service founded by local healthcare organizations, including The Everett Clinic, First Choice Health, Group Health Cooperative, Premera Blue Cross, Regence BlueShield, and Health Services Northwest – a partnership of Providence Health System and Swedish Health Services. The company offers health professionals a secure portal to the online services offered by leading local health organizations. With OneHealthPort, healthcare professionals have a single way to sign on to secure local healthcare sites on the web to check claims status, verify eligibility, manage referrals, access clinical information online, and more.