HIP Health Plan Deploys Pathlore LMS

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jan. 23, 2002 – Pathlore, the most widely adopted e-Learning solution provider in the marketplace, today announced that HIP Health Plan of New York (HIP), New York’s largest HMO, has implemented Pathlore Learning Management System (LMS) to manage and deliver learning content to employees across the organization. Pathlore LMS is enabling HIP to better develop and manage employee skills, and in turn provide members with the highest level of healthcare services.

More than 1,700 employees across 20 business units at HIP are using Pathlore LMS to gain critical skills, track licensing and certifications, and organize training processes. Employees are taking advantage of classes including project management, managed care and ethics, as well as strengthening core competencies with word processing, accounting, presentation and database programs.

“We’ve always placed a strong emphasis on furthering our employees’ education, and now with the flexibility, automation and scalability of Pathlore LMS, we have been able to roll out our training program to the entire organization,” said Fred Blickman, senior vice president of human resources for HIP Health Plan. “Employee reaction to e-Learning has been extremely positive, and we’ve found that employees are more eager to engage in courses and to take advantage of the training opportunities we provide.”

Pathlore LMS’ administration capabilities allow HIP to track employees’ use of training opportunities and efficiently manage their learning initiatives from a central location. Managers within individual business units at HIP now can access employees’ training records and opportunities, and use this information when conducting annual employee reviews. One HIP department that is seeing the positive effects of Pathlore LMS is the Information Systems (IS) department, which is requiring its employees to maintain the highest standards in developing and executing IS projects. The department can monitor employees’ interaction with training programs through Pathlore LMS.

“HIP Health Plan of New York has shown commitment to the professional development of its employees that will benefit all customers, partners and stakeholders,” said Steve Thomas, president and CEO of Pathlore. “With Pathlore LMS, HIP Health Plan of New York has made e-Learning readily available to its work force, significantly improving their learning experience, as well as their ability to more effectively serve customers.”

HIP Health Plans selected Pathlore in April 2001. After strong initial support during pilot programs, HIP extended e-Learning via Pathlore LMS to the entire organization in November 2001.

About HIP

With almost 800,000 members, HIP Health Plan of New York is the largest HMO in the New York metropolitan area. HIP provides access to care in a variety of ways. Members can go to doctors organized and practicing in medical groups. Or they can go to doctors associated with hospitals, including Beth Israel Medical Center, St. Luke-Roosevelt Hospital Center, Lenox Hill Community Medical Group, and Montefiore Medical Center. HIP members can also go to HIP’s network of more than 15,000 private doctors who work out of their offices in 25,000 neighborhood locations. HIP members also have access to care at more than 100 participating hospitals, including those named above and such other outstanding institutions as Long Island Jewish Medical Center and North Shore University Hospital. For more information about HIP please visit http://www.hipusa.com