News Release

Advanced Web-based medical technologies foster better informed consumers

Business Announcement

Elsevier

PHILADELPHIA, PA – August 18, 2010 – The face of the medical consumer is changing. With the rapid advance of Internet technology and the growing national focus on healthcare, Americans are taking greater responsibility for their own medical care and demanding the same health and medical information previously available only to physicians and health officials. There are potential downsides to this trend; however, as a recent study published in the American Journal of Infection Control showed that over a four-month period in 2009, hundreds of Twitter users posted casual misinformation about antibiotics -- which, in turn, reached more than a million followers.

Helping to provide quality, reliable drug information is Gold Standard/Elsevier, a leading developer of drug information databases and decision support solutions. Through a partnership with Healthline Networks, Gold Standard drug information is reaching over 20 million health information seekers on the Internet every month, including on Yahoo.com. Healthline, a leading provider of web-based health information services, has developed consumer-friendly health decision support applications, including Healthline DrugSearch™ and Healthline TreatmentSearch™, which are built on and integrate Gold Standard's data. These innovative tools allow users to understand and compare treatments in the context of a specific condition to better manage their health and wellness.

"In support of physicians and pharmacists who typically impart medication information to patients, sophisticated drug databases such as those powered by Gold Standard/Elsevier enable patients to become active participants in their health and medical plans by providing trusted information," said Marianne Messer, President, Gold Standard/Elsevier. "Consumers can rely on information from credible providers, with accurate content similar to that which is used by professionals."

"With the upcoming changes in the American healthcare system, consumers must play more significant roles in their own medical care, especially when it comes to prescription drugs," said West Shell, III, Chairman and CEO, Healthline Networks. "With Healthline DrugSearch, built on Gold Standard clinical data, consumers can understand all drug and treatment options for a given condition and check for interactions, for example, if they have prescriptions from multiple doctors. Healthline's decision support tools have the sophistication and ease-of-use to deliver on the Gold Standard belief that consumers need to take responsibility to know more about their medications, which will help them build a better dialogue with their physicians."

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About Gold Standard/Elsevier

Based in Tampa, FL, Gold Standard/Elsevier uses innovative technologies to provide a complete suite of drug information and decision support solutions. With a tenacious commitment to product quality, Gold Standard/Elsevier solutions empower healthcare organizations, professionals and consumers to meet the most pressing healthcare challenges, improve patient safety and ensure optimal outcomes. To learn more about Gold Standard/Elsevier, visit www.goldstandard.com.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including the Lancet (www.thelancet.com) and Cell (www.cell.com), and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include ScienceDirect (www.sciencedirect.com), Scopus (www.scopus.com), Reaxys (www.reaxys.com), MD Consult (www.mdconsult.com) and Nursing Consult (www.nursingconsult.com), which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite (www.scival.com) and MEDai's Pinpoint Review (www.medai.com), which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier (www.elsevier.com) employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC (www.reedelsevier.com), a world-leading publisher and information provider. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

About Healthline

Healthline Networks is a leading provider of intelligent health information services, enabling over 100 million consumers a month to make more confident, informed healthcare decisions. The company's proprietary consumer healthcare taxonomy, the largest of its kind, powers a suite of intelligent health search, content and advertising services. Combining advanced search technology with deep medical expertise, Healthline partners with a network of over 40 trusted destination sites that include publishers, portals, search engines, employers and health plans. Headquartered in San Francisco, Healthline is backed by Aetna, GE/NBCU, Investor Growth Capital, Kaiser Permanente, Reed Elsevier, U.S. News & World Report, and VantagePoint Venture Partners. For more information visit http://www.healthline.com.


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