Austin TX, September 22, 2003 - Family Patient, a Non-Profit Corporation based in Austin Texas, today announced the launch of its website, which is dedicated to helping patients keep family and friends up-to-date about their current medical condition. Patients, or an immediate family member, can set up an account on the site, which will allow them to post Updates and Reports detailing the patient's current condition and progress. These Patient Reports will be accessible to family and friends who have been sent the appropriate Visitor login for that patient. If the patient chooses, they can also designate to have their Patient Reports be viewable to the general public in an area of the website called "Public Update Reports".

Larry Hoffman, President of Family Patient, remarks on the purpose of the website: "When someone becomes ill and requires an extended hospital stay or prolonged rehabilitation, it can often be a daunting task to keep family and friends updated on the day-to-day condition of their loved one. Patients or their family can spend hours making phone calls and sending emails in order to keep family and friends informed - ultimately they end up having to repeat the same information over and over. The Family Patient website was created to allow families to post updated information about the condition of their loved ones in one convenient, easy-to-use, and secure location: on the internet. My hope is that patients and their family will find this service useful, and will ease some of the burden families go through to keep family and friends updated. I also hope that patients will allow their Reports to be viewable to the public. I believe that Patient’s Update Reports are not only educational, but also heartwarming and inspirational."

There is no cost to register a patient or to use the Family Patient website.

Family Patient has services available to patients and families within the local Austin area who need special assistance getting their Patient Reports posted, or who do not have access to an internet connection. Family Patient staff members will meet with patients and their families, document the patient's current condition, and post the updates on the website for them.

Family Patient was conceived and founded by Larry Hoffman. Larry has worked as an Internet Developer in Austin for 8 years. Larry started Family Patient as a way of "giving something back to the community". "In my career as an Internet Developer, I have had the pleasure of working with various medical organizations within Austin. Because I find this work so rewarding on a personal level, I have always wondered how I could use my talents as an Internet Developer to contribute to other areas of the medical community in Austin. I started to think about the ways in which the Internet could be used to provide services to hospital patients and their families in ways that are not currently available. The result of that is the Family Patient website."