Solucient appoints its first Chief Medical Officer

EVANSTON, IL – Feb. 16, 2004 – Solucient®, a leading provider of strategic business and clinical information for the health care industry, has named its first chief medical officer, Kaveh Safavi, MD, JD. Dr. Safavi has previously served as senior vice president and general manager of Solucient’s Clinical Business unit.

Dr. Safavi will lead a new division of Solucient to be known as the Solucient Center for Healthcare Improvement, which will provide the health care industry and media with key research, reports, and insight based on Solucient data. In addition, Dr. Safavi will provide a leadership voice for the organization with customers, government agencies, and the media.

“We are extremely pleased to have a physician of Dr. Safavi’s stature in the position of CMO,” said Solucient Chief Executive Officer Chuck Leonard. “As head of our Clinical unit, Dr. Safavi has been instrumental in helping Solucient develop and expand this critical segment of our business. His new role will further accelerate these and related efforts and bring tremendous value to our organization and the health care industry.”

Dr. Safavi has 20 years of health care experience in senior management and in the practice of internal medicine and pediatrics. As senior vice president and general manager of Solucient’s Clinical Business unit, he successfully led strategic planning for the company’s clinical products and directed the launch of The Solucient Polaris™ Suite, a comprehensive, Web-based performance analysis tool for hospitals. Prior to Solucient, Dr. Safavi served as vice president of business and strategic development for Alexian Brothers in Chicago, a multi-hospital Catholic health system.

In addition, Dr. Safavi served as vice president of medical affairs for UnitedHealthcare of Illinois and was president and medical director of the Illinois division of Health Springs Medical Group, a national primary care practice management company.

Dr. Safavi serves on the Board of Directors and chairs the Audit Committee for NeoPharm, Inc. a publicly traded biotechnology company in Lake Forest, Ill.

Dr. Safavi received his M.D. from Loyola University of Chicago and his J.D. from DePaul University. He is a fellow of the American College of Law and Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the Illinois State Medical Society’s Council on Medical Economics.