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WASHINGTON, June 3, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE:FCN), the global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations protect and enhance their enterprise value, and a public-private partnership of stakeholders spearheaded by the Nashville Area Chamber's Research Center, today released findings from a groundbreaking pilot study to assess health, cost, quality and access in the Nashville region.

The Assessment of Nashville Region Health, Cost, Access, and Quality: Results of a Pilot Study, conducted by FTI Consulting'sCenter for Healthcare Economics and Policy, provides a comprehensive profile of health status and healthcare cost in the Nashville region and reports findings on core metrics, healthcare infrastructure such as physician supply, quality and cost and utilization of healthcare services related to chronic health conditions. The study breaks new ground in its development of robust and locally relevant data and core metrics from extensive claims and healthcare data for Nashville and several peer metropolitan regions, and presents results in an analytical framework that provides for sound comparative assessments of the region's opportunities and needs. The study's use of extensive commercial claims data provides richer insights on workforce and community effects from health status than traditionally available from Medicare data.

"Understanding and addressing health, cost, access, and quality at the local level represents one of the most important opportunities for healthcare providers, insurers, business leaders and governments to transform healthcare with meaningful benefit for their local communities," said Margaret Guerin-Calvert, President of the Center for Healthcare Economics and Policy at FTI Consulting. "Developing the most robust and relevant data and analyses in a sound framework is the first step; we look forward to assisting this committed partnership of Nashville stakeholders on assessing these findings and next steps."

The study identified key strengths of the Nashville region, including physician supply, as well as areas for potential improvement in chronic conditions or behaviors. Included among the key findings are:

• Strong physician supply and insurance coverage, coupled with high quality of care, demonstrates that the appropriate care delivery components are in place to influence population health through preventive services and by managing and coordinating care.
• Compared with other areas analyzed, healthcare is relatively more affordable in Nashville. Nashville's residents can access high quality of care that meets their specific healthcare needs with relatively low average payments.
• A high level of connectivity between Nashville's residents and the healthcare system suggests that physicians may be able to better drive change in health behaviors than in other comparable communities that have lower levels of connection and access. Failing to take advantage of this as a resource to influence change would represent a missed opportunity.
• Nashville's relatively high utilization rates for healthcare services for chronic disease conditions, however, may indicate that an opportunity for enhanced coordination of care also exists, as well as opportunities for cost savings, improved health and productivity.

"FTI Consulting's strength is our ability to serve a diverse set of clients in industries undergoing disruptive change with innovative and collaborative approaches informed by expert advice grounded in cutting-edge analytics and industry expertise," said John Klick, Global Leader of the Economic Consulting segment at FTI Consulting. "FTI Consulting's Center for Healthcare Economics and Policy is well positioned to partner with private and public organizations individually or in collaboration with others on these critical strategies for health and economic well-being."

"This pilot reflects our leaders' strong commitment to combine resources to develop the information to understand where we stand on crucial needs in healthcare. It provides us sound insights for potential strategies and constructive next steps," said Ralph Schulz, Chief Executive Officer and President at the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. "We believe this model can be replicated by other communities interested in understanding their needs and in creating community-driven solutions for their populations."

The full Assessment of Nashville Region Health, Cost, Access, and Quality: Results of a Pilot Study can be accessed here: http://www.fticonsulting.com/global2/critical-thinking/reports/nashville-area-chamber-healthcare-pilot-study.aspx.

About the Study

The Nashville Area Chamber's Research Center spearheaded a partnership of Baptist Healing Trust, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Community Health Systems, Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, The HCA Foundation & HCA Hope Fund, the Nashville Health Care Council, the Saint Thomas Health Foundation and Vanderbilt University, to commission a healthcare pilot study to assess cost, quality and access in the Nashville region in collaboration with FTI Consulting's Center for Healthcare Economics and Policy. The pilot builds on the Nashville Chamber of Commerce Research Center's 2014 Nashville Region's "Vital Signs," and uses its peer Metropolitan Statistical Areas ("MSA") group to compare and assess Nashville's performance in various health and healthcare-related measures. The pilot study has several features that distinguish it from many rankings reports and studies, including assessment of healthcare infrastructure such as physician supply and growth and use of extensive commercial claims data along with Medicare data to assess cost and utilization of healthcare services for specific chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ("COPD") and depression. The study develops an extensive set of core metrics and analyses for Nashville and its several peer MSAs and presents results in an analytical framework that provides for sound performance and comparative assessments on health, cost, access and quality.

About FTI Consulting

FTI Consulting, Inc. is a global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations protect and enhance enterprise value in an increasingly complex legal, regulatory and economic environment. With more than 4,400 employees located in 26 countries, FTI Consulting professionals work closely with clients to anticipate, illuminate and overcome complex business challenges in areas such as investigations, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory issues, reputation management, strategic communications and restructuring. The Company generated $1.76 billion in revenues during fiscal year 2014. For more information, visit www.fticonsulting.com and connect with us on Twitter (@FTIConsulting), Facebook and LinkedIn.

CONTACT: FTI Consulting, Inc.1101 K Street NWWashington, DC 20005
         +1.202.312.9100

         Investor Contact:
         Mollie Hawkes
         +1.617.747.1791
         mollie.hawkes@fticonsulting.com

         Media Contact:
         Margaret Guerin-Calvert
         +1.202.589.3405
         margaret.guerin-calvert@fticonsulting.com