CHAPEL HILL, NC—(April 22, 2004) Frank Stevens was being prepped for cochlear implant surgery at UNC Hospitals when his heart rate dropped to a surprisingly low 33 beats per minute.

The surgical team responded quickly to stabilize the 64-year-old High Point resident. Then they canceled his surgery and sent him to the UNC Heart Center at Meadowmont for an electrocardiogram or ECG stress test.

There Stevens met with Dr. Magnus Ohman, who began to explain what the test would entail. But Stevens, because of his hearing impairment, had difficulty understanding everything the doctor said, even though he lip reads well.

Fortunately, the UNC Heart Center had a resource in place that was able to help. Each exam room at the UNC Heart Center has a computer where patients can log on to a specially designed Web site aimed at providing patient education and information, which is a frequently neglected aspect of health care.

On a preprinted slip of paper, Ohman marked a check in the box next to "ECG Stress Testing." "This works just like a prescription," Ohman explained to Stevens. "I just check off those items that you need to see."

Then, after nurse Dee Shoffner helped Stevens create his personal login to the password-protected portion of the Heart Center's Web site, www.uncheartcenter.org, he was able to read a complete description of the test that filled in whatever gaps remained in his understanding of the procedure.

"This is very helpful," Stevens said as he pointed and clicked his way through the Web site.

Ohman said the Web site is "a great tool for patient empowerment." Ohman is director of the UNC Heart Center, chief of the Division of Cardiology and Ernest and Hazel Craige Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine in the UNC School of Medicine.

"The Web site helps patients better understand their conditions, the tests we use to diagnose those conditions and their options for treatment," he said. This is especially important, he added, in the wake of a recent Institute of Medicine report that found more than half of American adults have difficulty understanding and using health information given to them by their health-care providers.

The UNC Heart Center started offering the patient-education site to its patients in March 2004. An average of 2,600 people visit the Heart Center's Web site each month, and about 50 are using the login page. The site, which was developed for the Heart Center by Boston-based NorthPoint Domain Inc., gives patients the opportunity to learn about their condition and treatment options both while they are in the clinic, being guided by their health-care providers, and later, in the comfort of their own homes or anywhere else with Internet access, including any public library in North Carolina.

Each exam room in the UNC Heart Center at Meadowmont clinic has a computer with access to the site. The "prescription" slip provided to each Heart Center patient includes the Web site address, instructions on how to access the site, a list of conditions, tests and treatments, and blanks for writing the patient's username and password. It also includes an e-mail address and phone number patients can use if they need help using the site.

For patients, the site gives ready access to a wealth of medical information that applies directly to their particular needs. This eliminates the need for them to spend hours searching for such information on their own. To the doctors, nurses and staff of the UNC Heart Center, the site gives them reassurance that the medical information their patients are reading has been reviewed by medical professionals for accuracy.

Although NorthPoint Domain has developed similar Web sites for many other cardiology practices, the way the UNC Heart Center is using its site as part of a comprehensive patient education effort is unique, said Peter M. Nicholas, Jr., founder and CEO of NorthPoint Domain, Inc. "Imperfect health literacy often results in patients' limited understanding of medical terms, what is wrong with them, and what their choices are for treatments," Nicholas said. "The UNC Heart Center's visionary approach toward patient education fosters not only increased physician-patient communication at the point of care, it further increases the awareness and truly innovative approach of the UNC Heart Center's electronic patient literacy resources."

Founded in October 1999, NorthPoint Domain Inc. is a worldwide developer and seller of Internet-based software products designed specifically for medical specialty practices.

The UNC Heart Center is a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, medical technical staff and nurses with expertise in cardiology, lipid management, lifestyle modification, cardiothoracic surgery and pediatric cardiology. It is part of UNC Health Care, a not-for-profit integrated health care system owned by the state of North Carolina and based in Chapel Hill.

UNC Health Care exists to further the teaching mission of the University of North Carolina and to provide state-of-the-art patient care. It is comprised of UNC Hospitals, ranked consistently among the best medical centers in the country; the UNC School of Medicine, a nationally eminent research institution; community practices; home health and hospice services in seven central North Carolina counties; and Rex Healthcare and its provider network in Wake County.

About NorthPoint Domain: NorthPoint Domain, Inc is a closely held, private company providing medical information services and Informed Care technology products designed to address health literacy concerns and deliver patient care oversight for the specialty specific practice. The company maintains that medical decisions are best made by physicians in partnership with patients and their families. For more information, please visit www.northpointdomain.com.

Contact:

NorthPoint Domain, Inc. Public Relations One Joy Street Boston, MA 02108 publicrelations@npdinc.com 1-800-603-1420