DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla., March 22, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- iBX Group, Inc. (OTCBB:IBXG) announced today that it has added a consulting arm to its MediCompliant Solutions division that will enable healthcare organizations to analyze the profitability of hospital-owned medical practices. The company is already working with a prominent hospital chain to determine the benefits of holding on to its practices.
According to a March 8 story in American Medical News, a publication of the American Medical Association, medical practices owned by hospitals or integrated delivery systems experienced a median net loss of more than $82,000 for each full-time physician in 2002, an increase of 9.5 percent since 2001. However, the report said, many hospitals are willing to absorb the losses in order to maintain the financial benefit of referrals generated by the practices and to retain a reliable network of physicians. While some healthcare organizations have been eager in recent years to unload what they deemed a financial drain, others have managed to develop profitable and thriving practices.
"For several years, healthcare administrators have been questioning the benefits of maintaining hospital-owned medical practices, and this report just highlights the need for ongoing analysis," said Alvin Brovenick, COO of iBX Group and leader of the new consulting team. "Currently, we're helping a hospital chain determine whether the benefits of keeping its practices outweigh the costs. With our team's extensive experience in hospital administration, medical practice management and accounting, iBX is uniquely qualified to provide these needed services."
In a letter to shareholders released last week, iBX outlined its intentions to expand the services of each of its divisions in response to strategic analysis of market demands. Brovenick said the addition of the new consulting service, while in the works for several months, is the first step in fulfilling this objective. The company's MediCompliant Solutions division enables healthcare organizations to achieve and maintain compliance with increasingly complex government regulations and is currently focused on providing legal expertise regarding the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and new Medicare regulations.
Based in Deerfield Beach, Florida, iBX Group Inc. develops and deploys creative, cost-effective methods for integrating financial, administrative and information services for the healthcare industry. iBX is a results-oriented company, consisting of five divisions -- iBX Technologies, which enables healthcare organizations to maximize collections of their accounts receivables; Florida HealthSource, a network of physical therapy and wellness centers; MediCompliant Solutions, which ensures medical practices' compliance with today's complex legal requirements; iBX Transcription Services, which offers physicians quick turn-around and Web-accessible progress reports; NursesSTAT, a revolutionary temporary staffing solution; and SportshealthNet.com and TheNetDigest.com, interactive Web portals providing patients with comprehensive healthcare information and advice, and increasing physician referrals.
This release is comprised of interrelated information that must be interpreted in the context of all of the information provided and care should be exercised not to consider portions of this release out of context. This release contains certain "forward-looking statements and information" (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning iBX Group, Inc. that are based on the beliefs of iBX Group, Inc.'s management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to iBX Group, Inc. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including those risks and uncertainties detailed in iBX's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.