The First North American Test of Y2K Impact

ST. JOHNS, Newfoundland -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Dec. 29, 1999 -- The Millennium will reach North America in Newfoundland one and one half hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. There, a Medical Information Center serving all of North America will provide the first test of the Western Hemisphere's Y2K impact.

FONEMED operates a sophisticated-computer based medical call center providing nurse advice and health information 24 hours a day to the USA and Canada via toll free long distance lines. Media observers will be welcome.

Ken Bleakley, President of FONEMED, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado says FONEMED is ready. "We have tested and retested all of our systems for Y2K compliance. FONEMED's Health Information Center in Athens Greece will be providing advance reports on system performance hours before the Millennium reaches North America. We will be conducting test calls and messages among Athens, our technical support Center in Atlanta Georgia, and our information systems team in St John's before during and after the New Century reaches the various time zones."

Dr James Broad, COO of FONEMED North America says FONEMED is prepared for the usual spate of calls from people who have better things to do than spend New Year's Eve in an emergency room. "We expect AT&T to continue to deliver calls to us from a wide variety of patients, young and old, who need to know how best to deal with urgent but non-emergency medical situations. Our Registered Nurses average over 10 years of patient experience and have access to the world's most advanced medical protocols. They can handle most contingencies"

FONEMED North America is a joint venture of FONEMED, Colorado Springs (www.fonemed.com), and Credentialed Call Centres of Canada, Toronto. They provide round-the-clock access to health information and services to individuals, medical practices and payer organizations via telephone and Internet.