NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – October 11, 2006 – At an invitation-only meeting hosted by the Harvard Medical School Center for Biomedical Informatics, Jeff Margolis, chairman and CEO of the TriZetto Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TZIX), joined other key leaders from industry, academia, medicine and government to tackle the most pressing issues surrounding personal health records (PHRs). The first meeting on Personally Controlled Health Records Infrastructure was convened to provide a basis for ongoing collaboration on PHR standards.

Health Plans as "Organizers" of $2 Trillion U.S. Healthcare System

How to design and implement PHRs that improve care and also provide patient privacy and control has been a central topic in the discussions around national healthcare reform and the creation of a national health information infrastructure. According to Margolis, health plans have the strategic power to guide this process, because they are uniquely positioned as the central organizers of the $2 trillion U.S. healthcare system.

"Health plans have the opportunity to more rapidly create a personal health record system from the top down," said Margolis. "In addition to linking 200 million consumers, these payers have all the aggregated benefit, claim, clinical, pharmacy and financial data."

PHR Efficient Route for Achieving National Goal

Margolis clarified the difference between a PHR, which is a portable health record provided by the health plan but controlled by the member, versus an electronic medical record (EMR) and an electronic health record (EHR). A provider-controlled EMR contains complex clinical data but is currently difficult to transport outside the doctor's office or hospital. An EHR is all-encompassing, allowing the sharing of all medical information across all providers, but is the most difficult and costly model to implement.

"While the EHR may have deep clinical data, the PHR has the health history which can be invaluable in guiding accurate treatment and emergent care," said Margolis. "The PHR provides many of the benefits of the EHR but is quicker and less expensive to implement, since it draws from the health plan's existing wealth of patient data."

Personal CareAdvance and the Medicare Test Pilot

Margolis noted that TriZetto has already enabled PHRs for more than 9 million health plan members via Personal CareAdvance™, the population and personal health management module of the company's CareAdvance Enterprise™ care management system. TriZetto developed the software on the principal requirements that it be accessible, data rich, portable, secure, personalized and proactive.

"Unlike a static record, which is manually populated with data by patients and their physicians, a PHR is automatically populated with data from the health plan's central system," said Margolis. "With the right technology and data interface, health plans can easily exchange information with multiple internal and external systems, such as those for claims, predictive modeling, pharmacy, home biometrics, and labs. The availability of these data sources ensures that when a member logs into the PHR, it contains personalized information and targeted content, so that it is meaningful and useful from the first log-on.

Consumers can then add other health information, if they so choose. Under any circumstance, consumers control their health records and grant access to whomever they choose, including doctors, family members and caregivers."

With strong acceptance in the commercial market, TriZetto's Personal CareAdvance was also chosen in August as part of a six-month feasibility test sponsored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The government is running only two such tests to determine how best to transform CMS claims data into personal health records that offer value to both Medicare beneficiaries and their care providers.

"There are incredible technology challenges to address in managing the value and quality of healthcare, and TriZetto is helping healthcare organizations partner with consumers to shape behavior that can control costs and improve outcomes. We believe that TriZetto technology can help transform U.S. healthcare from episodic, crisis-driven treatment to proactive, chronic-care and wellness management that improves members' overall health and quality of life."

Healthcare IT Legislation

Margolis encouraged payers to utilize their strategic power and unique relationship with consumers to take a more active role in healthcare IT legislation, which in many ways has been clinically oriented.

"Each individual has just one primary health plan at a time, and that one-on-one relationship is valuable. Among multiple doctor and hospital visits, pharmacies, and labs, the patient encounter is not complete without the payer's technology backbone."

Margolis continued, "While current legislation and the efforts of the Office for the National Coordinator for Health Information are an admirable start, creating standards and a common technology goal are critical for success and the effective use of millions of government dollars."

Margolis concluded, "Ultimately, health plans will continue to evolve into a trusted source for consumers to understand their health benefits and access the providers, tools and information they need to become better educated and more involved in their care. A PHR that is automatically populated with health plan data is one critical step in that direction."

About TriZetto

Touching more than 35% of the U.S. insured population, TriZetto is distinctly focused on accelerating the ability of healthcare payers to lead the industry's transformation. The company provides premier information technology solutions that enhance its customers' revenue growth, drive their administrative efficiency, and improve the cost and quality of care for their members. Healthcare payers include national and regional health insurance plans, and benefits administrators that provide transaction services to self-insured employer groups. The company's broad array of payer-focused information technology offerings include enterprise and component software, hosting and business process outsourcing services, and consulting. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, TriZetto can be reached at 949-719-2200 or at www.trizetto.com.

CONTACTS:

Investors:
Brad Samson
949-719-2220
brad.samson@trizetto.com

Media:
Audrey McDill
303-495-7197
audrey.mcdill@trizetto.com