Hi-Ethics Elects New Officers, Welcomes New Member and Establishes Affiliate Membership Status

Washington, DC (December 23, 2002)- Hi-Ethics, Inc. elected new officers at its recent annual meeting.

Hi-Ethics also welcomed American Specialty Health as its newest member. Based in San Diego, American Specialty Health and its affiliates provide specialty benefit plans, health education programs, e-commerce services, and affinity discount programs nationwide to health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups and trust funds. Its services include quality management, customer service, claims administration, clinical services management, and provider credentialing.

Other Board business included the approved of an affiliate membership status for organizations. The affiliate category enables Hi-Ethics to establish strategic relationships with organizations that have a deep understanding of issues surrounding privacy, security and quality of online health information. This change will have a significant impact on the development of Version 2.0 of the Hi-Ethics Principles. Organizations that may not qualify for membership to Hi-Ethics can influence the direction of Version 2.0 of the Principles.

"We welcome a new member, new leadership and an opportunity to seek a broader audience for feedback in the ongoing development of the Principles," said Alan Greene, MD, chief medical officer of A.D.A.M. "We will continue to seek experts in the health and technology industries who are adept at developing standards that benefit consumers."

Hi-Ethics Board members also presented initial findings from workgroups developing Version 2.0 of the Principles. The workgroups cover privacy and security, quality of health information, compliance and eHealth services. Once invitations have been extended to organizations for affiliate membership to Hi-Ethics, they will have an opportunity to review the Principles and propose changes.

"We were delighted with the progress made by each workgroup," said Michael Rozen, MD, chairman of Hi-Ethics. "When we issued Version 1.0 of the Principles, we anticipated we would need to modify and strengthen them to support issues created by eHealth industry growth and evolving consumer concerns."

The first draft of Version 2.0 of the Principles will be distributed next year.

Hi-Ethics invites U.S.-based health Web sites to apply for membership to the board of directors. Visit www.hiethics.org for information on how to join or call (925) 964-1793.

Hi-Ethics began developing ethical principles in the areas of privacy, advertising, and quality in November 1999. The organization's involvement with the URAC accreditation process began in May 2001 when Hi-Ethics recognized the need to inv