SAN DIEGO, CA, HIMSS, Booth # 1145, February 11, 2003 - Health Plus, one of the fastest growing managed care organizations in New York City, has deployed the Canon/eCopy solution to accelerate its progress toward compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) by eliminating fax machines and greatly improving the way all documentation is distributed, stored and retrieved. Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ), and a leader in networked digital imaging solutions, recently expanded its long-term relationship with eCopy, Inc. a leading provider of products that transform paper documents into digital information, through a $15.8 million minority equity investment.

Like many healthcare organizations, Health Plus - New York City deals with massive amounts of paper-based documentation. Patient medical histories, enrollment forms and claim forms are constantly being sent, received, archived, and retrieved. Health Plus had always had stringent procedures in place to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of all patient medical information. However, it recently found that even these procedures were not enough under HIPAA, passed in 1996 by the U.S. Congress. Like many other companies involved in or associated with the healthcare field, Health Plus was facing penalties if it did not become HIPAA-compliant by 2003. This looming deadline, plus a desire to enhance the overall document management process set off an intensive search for solutions that could address both of these areas.

"With the almost unchecked proliferation of paper documents in every area of the healthcare industry, it's been hard to achieve the levels of efficiency and security that either we ourselves have established or that have been set by external regulatory agencies," said Farley Kamhi, CIO for Health Plus. "The Canon/eCopy solutions are changing all that. As a result, we can spend more time on providing outstanding health-related services rather than on management and compliance issues."

Comprehensive security built in
In addition to providing a feature-rich, easy-to-use way of transforming paper documents into electronic files and then streamlining the entire document flow, the eCopy ScanStation provides impressive security capabilities in six key areas:
• Device security to prevent unauthorized access to the ScanStation
• Restricted access to the network from the ScanStation
• Password authentication for major scanning functions
• Inbox security to prevent unauthorized access to scanned image files
• 128-bit document encryption to ensure the privacy of sensitive information sent over the Internet
• Activity logging to record customizable data fields

These all make major contributions to achieving HIPAA compliance.

"We already had a number of Canon copiers in our facilities and asked the dealer about the availability of scanning capabilities," said Mr. Kamhi. "As the conversation progressed, we also mentioned our concerns about faxes and the entire HIPAA compliance issue. Our rep showed us that we could address all three of our requirements with Canon, the eCopy scanning solution and eCopyFax. Needless to say, we were thrilled."

eCopyFax contributes to HIPAA compliance in a number of ways. First, since eCopyFax delivers faxes to individual e-mail accounts, there is no danger of confidential faxes being seen or read by mistake, as can often happen when traditional fax machines are located in public areas or serve multiple users. Second, eCopyFax offers a 128-bit encryption capability for the e-mail portion of the fax transmission, both inbound and outbound. In addition, when used in conjunction with Canon copiers, eCopyFax provides a powerful tool for managing fax communications quickly, securely, and less expensively than conventional methods.

Finally, the eCopy Desktop software provided with both the eCopy scanning solution and eCopyFax provides additional security features, such as the ability to white out specific information on faxes and e-mails sent to selected destinations, while leaving the information intact on the electronic original.

"The multiple fax numbers are perfect for achieving HIPAA compliance," said Mr. Kamhi. "They allow us to give key employees in highly confidential areas such as medical management their own private fax numbers. When a fax comes in, eCopyFax directs it right to the employee's desktop, eliminating any possibility that it might be seen by others."

To simplify and streamline workflow, the Canon/eCopy solutions have already allowed Health Plus to start eliminating individual fax machines and greatly improve the way all documentation is stored, distributed and retrieved.

A profile of Health Plus - New York City
Health Plus, one of the fastest growing managed care organizations in New York City, was established in 1984 with a commitment to providing coordinated quality health care and improving access for a diverse and growing number of uninsured and underserved families. This non-profit organization offers better access to coordinated quality care through affiliations with over 2,000 primary care providers and 260 health centers in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. The Health Plus provider network consists of 50 hospitals, their outpatient clinics, and over 5,000 specialists and other providers in the New York City area.

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc. delivers consumer, business-to-business, and industrial imaging solutions. In 2001, the Company was listed as one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies in America, and was ranked #41 on the Business Week list of "Top 100 Brands." Its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), is a top patent-holder of technology, ranking third overall in the U.S. in 2001, with global revenues of $22 billion. Canon U.S.A. employs approximately 11,000 people at over 30 locations. For more information, visit www.usa.canon.com.

About eCopy, Inc.
Based in Nashua, NH, eCopy, Inc. is a market leader in providing products that allow anyone in an organization to transform paper documents into information that is easily integrated with leading business applications. The eCopy Suite of products seamlessly connects a digital copier to an organization's e-mail (like Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes) and other networked enterprise applications. Targeted for general business use in the Global 2,500, close to one million users worldwide send eCopies rather than faxes and overnight letters. For more information, visit www.ecopy.com.