EATONTOWN, N.J., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- QMed, Inc. today announced that Narinder Bhalla, MD, FACC, FSCAI, has joined QMed, Inc., as Chief Medical Officer effective January 19th, 2006. Dr. Bhalla has been a member of QMed’s medical consulting group for more than ten years.
Dr. Bhalla is a Cardiologist who has spanned the breadth of academic medicine, having been on faculty at multiple major university hospitals, and private sector medicine. He is currently Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at New York University School of Medicine and recently served as the Chief of the Division of Cardiology at The Brooklyn Hospital Center. Dr. Bhalla has an extensive background in clinical research, and has had a growing interest in primary care cardiology and disease management.
Michael W. Cox, QMed president and CEO said, “It is a truly great honor for us to announce this appointment. We have known Nani Bhalla for many years and all of us at QMed have great respect for his integrity and his medical and research backgrounds as well as for his numerous contributions to our Company over the years. He brings extraordinary levels of talent and energy to the task of Chief Medical Officer. He has superb qualifications as a practicing cardiologist and researcher and these qualifications are complemented by his firm forward-looking grasp of QMed’s information management system business capabilities. He is especially knowledgeable on their fit into the transforming environment of 21st century medical economics as it relates to treating the chronically ill. We welcome him enthusiastically and look forward to the great addition that his skills and dedication will make to our Company as CMO.”
Dr. Bhalla commented, “I have worked with the QMed team for many years because I believe that the Company’s commitment to understanding and disseminating peer-reviewed medical science is already making a meaningful difference in improving patient health. QMed is committed to providing support for physicians that allow them to enhance the care of their patients with the use of best practice evidence based medicine (EBM). The QMed model has been built on supporting the physician patient relationship, and on interacting with the patients. This is a win-win situation for the patients and the physicians, while curtailing the cost of healthcare.”
“It is crucial to understand that the underlying structure responsible for these escalating and unsustainable costs of patient care is in the process of an occasionally painful transformation,” he continued. “It is my firm belief that our Company is currently at the forefront of that transformation and that the transformation process itself presents us with very considerable business opportunities. These opportunities are not limited to being a provider of health services to traditional health insurance customers. They extend beyond that to sponsoring our own Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans, to providing services to employers, to offering programs for consumers and to partnering with organizations of many types both large and small. QMed is providing the building blocks that will help shape the future of healthcare delivery in the United States. As a physician, and a researcher, I find this to be an innovative and exciting time and I am pleased to join the talented group at QMed in my new capacity.”
About QMed, Inc.
QMed provides evidence-based clinical information management systems around the country to its health plan customers. The system incorporates Disease Management services to patients and decision support to physicians. The Company’s QMedCare subsidiary specializes in serving high-risk populations of Medicare beneficiaries. Health e Monitoring is QMed’s subsidiary offering weight, obesity and health promotion programs. The Company has been selected and operates in two Medicare Demonstrations to test the feasibility of reimbursing its care coordinated DM services in the vast Medicare fee-for- service program. More information on QMed, Inc. can be obtained at www.qmedinc.com, by calling (732) 544-5544 or by emailing investor@qmedinc.com.
Except for historical information contained herein, matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. They include but are not limited to those relating to the timely implementation of programs, the impact of competitive product introductions, acceptance and pricing, and those risks detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Actual results may differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to these risks and uncertainties.
QMed, Inc.
CONTACT: Robert Mosby, QMed, Inc., +1-732-544-5544 x1107
Web site: http://www.qmedinc.com/
