Availity Selects Vitria For Next-Generation Availity Gateway

Business Wire, Oct 7, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 2002

Vitria's Collaborative Application and Industry-Leading

Integration Platform to Help Leading e-Health Vendor

Improve the Speed and Accuracy of Claims Processing

Vitria (Nasdaq:VITR), the leading provider of business process integration solutions, today announced that Availity, L.L.C. has selected Vitria as the integration infrastructure for its Availity Gateway, an all payer electronic transaction service. As the leading e-Health vendor in the state of Florida, Availity optimizes the flow of information between health care providers, health plans and other health care stakeholders through a secure Internet-based exchange. Availity health plan transactions are free to providers and include eligibility and benefits inquiries, authorization and referral submissions and inquiries, and claims submissions and status inquiries. Availity is using the Vitria Collaborative Application (VCA) for the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and Vitria's BusinessWare(R) integration platform to simplify, streamline, and automate transaction management capabilities for all Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) transactions, including eligibility and benefits, authorizations and referrals, and claims that are processed through the Availity Gateway.

"The Availity Gateway provides a focused marketplace solution that fundamentally changes the way healthcare transactions are administered and performed. We selected Vitria as our EDI integration standard because of its robust HIPAA-compliant data edits and file transformation capabilities," said Julie Klapstein, chief executive officer, Availity. "Vitria's product suite is not only offering our clients greater control over patient claims and medical records as mandated by HIPAA, but is also cutting overall administrative costs and securing them for future growth."

The VCA for HIPAA is an out-of-the-box integration solution for managing transaction, validation and security requirements among healthcare payers, providers, clearinghouses and government agencies, facilitating compliance well ahead of the mandated 2003 deadlines. The VCA for HIPAA and BusinessWare enable Availity to transact business with healthcare organizations in a standard electronic format, allowing all Florida providers to submit EDI transactions in a manner that is compliant with the HIPAA provisions. The solution will allow Availity to gain more visibility, control, and access to the HIPAA transactions that flow across the Availity Gateway, expediting compliance with this federal mandate. In addition, enhanced visibility and management of the organization's data enables Availity's transacting health plans, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida and Humana, to improve operational efficiencies and lower the costs of conducting business.

"The Availity Gateway, based on Vitria's healthcare solutions, is providing a marketplace solution that fundamentally changes the way healthcare transactions are administered and performed," said Bob Golladay, vice president for healthcare and insurance, Vitria. "Vitria's healthcare solutions are helping our customers, such as Availity, to gain greater control over patient claims and medical records as mandated by HIPAA, cut overall administrative costs, and secure future growth. Payers transacting business through the Availity Gateway are relying on Vitria's solution to effect better transaction management, enabling greater visibility, control and access to health care transactions, such as claims, throughout the health care value chain. Availity's strategic approach of moving provider transactions through the Availity Gateway provides an ideal model for other healthcare organizations to follow."

About Availity

Availity is an independent company that optimizes the flow of information between Florida health care providers, health plans, and other health care stakeholders through a secure Internet-based exchange. The Availity Gateway offers a common user interface and a single login, is dedicated to being HIPAA compliant, and has proven to be fast and efficient. Availity health plan transactions are free to providers and include eligibility and benefits inquiries, authorization and referral submissions and inquiries, and claims submissions and status inquiries. Value-added services include an online credentialing data repository, also free to providers, as well as online prescription refill authorizations supported by over 80% of Florida pharmacies. For more information, including an online demonstration of the Availity Gateway, or to register to use Availity, please visit www.availity.com or call 1.800.AVAILITY (282.4548).

About Vitria

Vitria Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:VITR) is the leading provider of business process integration solutions. The company pioneered the enterprise application integration market in 1994 and the use of business process management in 1997, and is now the first integration solution provider to solve integration challenges through collaborative applications. With 35 offices around the world, Vitria's customer base includes such companies as Bell South, The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, BP, DaimlerChrysler Bank, Dana, Generali, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, PacifiCare Health Systems, Reynolds and Reynolds, Schneider Logistics, Sprint, Trane, Trans Union, and The United States' Departments of Defense and Veteran's Affairs. For more information call 1-408-212-2700, email info@vitria.com or visit www.vitria.com.