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Merge Announces Addition of Endpoint Adjudication to eClinical OS(TM) Platform

Solution Facilitates Efficient Endpoint Management and Adjudication Process

CHICAGO, April 9, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Merge Healthcare Incorporated (Nasdaq:MRGE), a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare, today announced the addition of endpoint and adjudication management to its eClinical OS™ platform, providing end-to-end study support for trials of all sizes through a single platform.

Endpoint adjudication management embedded within an electronic data capture platform facilitates the endpoint management and adjudication process, offering a collaborative and flexible workflow for all stakeholders. Significant cost efficiencies are achieved and cycle times reduced with a single, seamless system.

“Merge eClinical has extensive experience working with the largest endpoint adjudication coordinating centers in the world. These relationships give us the unique experience to develop an endpoint adjudication module that is powerful, yet flexible enough to meet the complex requirements of all our clients. Merge’s latest enhancements to eClinical OS further our vision for delivering a unified solution for all data capture, processing and return,” said Zaher El-Assi, General Manager, eClinical Solutions of Merge. “Through its single, easy-to-use interface, built-in study templates, libraries and reports, and pay-as-you-go pricing, eClinical OS enables study sponsors and CROs to manage and run studies more efficiently than ever before.”

With Merge eClinical OS’ new Endpoint Adjudication Module, customers can:

  • Expedite cycle times with redaction tool and electronic collection of source documents
  • Auto-compile dossiers from source documents
  • Reduce costs with fewer paper documents to track, ship, and review
  • Manage paired parallel, expert review and committee workflows
  • Receive instant notifications that enable quick and efficient coordination
  • Access reviewer assignments and dossiers from anywhere, at any time
  • Improve data quality through eCRFs and online edit checks

“We began using eClinical OS towards the end of last year to manage and run our studies,” explained Thomas Engels, Vice President of Clinical Affairs for CardioKinetix Inc. “We’ve already seen enhanced efficiencies and improved productivity across the board, and are excited to begin using the new endpoint adjudication module to accelerate cycle times for adjudicating events.”

As a single, web-based solution, Merge eClinical OS has the flexibility to support trials in any phase, and captures any type of data, from any source, over any modality. With a complete menu of clinical trial capabilities that can be mixed and matched, eClinical OS builds a solid foundation for each trial environment. Merge eClinical OS also has the scalability to grow if a trial increases in size, number or complexity.

Merge has seen a strong market response to Merge eClinical OS since its June debut last year at the DIA Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA. The eClinical business group has seen 57% quarter over quarter growth in the number of clinical studies under contract, and 65% quarter over quarter growth in the number of sites using Merge eClinical solutions.

“We are obviously pleased by the positive customer response to eClinical OS,” says Zaher El-Assi, General Manager, eClinical Solutions of Merge. “Customer feedback has been integral to the product design, and I think it reflects a renewed focus on study efficiency. Merge eClinical OS places the control back in the users’ hands, resulting in shorter build times, faster implementation, and more cost effective trial design.”

About Merge

Merge is a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare. Merge’s enterprise and cloud-based solutions for image intensive specialties provide access to any image, anywhere, any time. Merge also provides health stations, clinical trials software and other health data and analytics solutions that engage consumers in their personal health. With solutions that are used by providers and consumers and include more than 20 years of innovation, Merge is helping to reduce costs and improve the quality of healthcare worldwide. For more information, visit merge.com.

 

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April 30, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

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El Centro Regional Medical Center deploys UniPrint Infinity

Solution provides simple, secure printing to physicians through virtual desktops in a VMware environment

Toronto, Canada, March 26, 2013 – UniPrint (www.uniprint.net), the leader in printing virtualization, today announced that El Centro Regional Medical Center (ECRMC) has selected UniPrint Infinity as the printing solution for its entire virtual IT environment.  UniPrint Infinity, the industry’s first printer-vendor independent managed print solution for any computing environment, provides a patented universal printer driver solution that enables El Centro to offer trouble free printing to all its end users.

ECRMC is an acute-care medical center in California, USA, serving the healthcare needs of the Imperial Valley area since 1956.  The ECRMC IT network is comprised of desktops, thin clients, physical and virtual servers, laptops and some virtual desktops running on VMware.  With hundreds of mixed computing devices on one network connecting from dispersed locations, each with their own printers of various makes and models, printer management was complex and challenging.  UniPrint was able to provide ECRMC a universal printing solution that allowed it to better serve every possible user device and printer combination across the network and integrate seamlessly with its existing IT structure and VMware virtual servers and desktops.  The entire implementation process was completed in two weeks.

With one universal printer driver, UniPrint Infinity allowed ECRMC to simplify its printer installation and management process.  ECRMC no longer had to install a manufacturer printer driver for every printer that the Center supported through a virtual environment.    Physicians and clinical staff on remote virtual desktops or other user devices now work with a single UniPrint printer, making it simple for them to print to any printer.  Additionally, ECRMC has seen a dramatic drop in help desk calls since the installation of UniPrint Infinity.

Henry Felix, Technical Services Manager, ECRMC, commented, “When looking for a printing solution, we evaluated various software from the industry.  UniPrint was the clear answer, solving our problem faster than its competitors.  If we didn’t deploy UniPrint, the alternative would have been to support all printers, and therefore print drivers, inside of the virtual sessions, which would have increased costs and IT complications while decreasing performance.  But with UniPrint, we have no such problems.  Now, we have one universal printer driver to manage, and that’s thanks to UniPrint.”

Arron Fu, VP of Software Development at UniPrint, said, “ECRMC needed a solution to solve its problem of multiple printer drivers, and the solution had to be user-friendly and immediately effective.  Given that 95% of ECRMC’s total printing output stems from printed lab results, the solution needed to be secure as well.  With UniPrint Infinity, ECRMC can now print securely while also minimizing IT costs and help desk calls.”

To download a free 30-day trial, or learn more about how to purchase UniPrint products through its global reseller network, please visit www.uniprint.net.

About UniPrint

UniPrint, a division of ACCEO Solutions Inc. (www.acceo.com), is the recognized leader in printing virtualization.

The newest solution in UniPrint’s patented, award-winning product line, UniPrint Infinity is the industry’s first truly secure enterprise-wide solution for any computing environment. Enabling anywhere, anytime, any device secure pull printing, UniPrint Infinity comes with a proven ROI through its statistics module, print document archiving functionality and Virtual Print Queue technology.

UniPrint Infinity replaces all manufacturer printer drivers with a single PDF generator to promote faster, more efficient printing, helping organizations to improve both productivity and return on investments.  For additional information on UniPrint, please visit www.uniprint.net.

UniPrint Infinity, UniPrint Server, UniPrint Terminal Server Edition, UniPrint Gateway Edition, UniPrint Gateway Terminal Server Edition, UniPrint VDI Edition and UniPrint Host Edition are trademarks of UniPrint.  All other trademarks and registered trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

 

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March 29, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

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Penn State Hershey Medical Center Goes Live with Avantas for Healthcare Enterprise Labor Management Solution

Magnet®-Designated Medical Center and Physician Group Uses Avantas Consulting Services and Technology to Automate Staffing and Enhance Communication, Transparency Across Enterprise

DENVER, CO – March 19, 2013 (AONE Booth #626) – Avantas, a leading provider of strategic labor management technology, services and strategies for the healthcare industry, today announced that Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and its associated Medical Group have implemented Avantas’ consulting services and Smart Square®, Avantas’ proprietary labor management software, to create a paperless, automated labor management system across the entire university-based enterprise.

Starting with its inpatient facility, Penn State Hershey has begun implementing all of Avantas’ Smart Square® modules, which will provide a transparent view of staffing, scheduling, and productivity at the enterprise level. Penn State is also leveraging Avantas’ HELM(TM) (Healthcare Enterprise Labor Management) methodology, a proven set of strategies combining the science of workforce planning, demand forecasting, and operational best practices with a complete set of scheduling and staffing tools.

“When we chose Avantas as a partner, our objective was to create increased efficiencies and cost savings across our entire enterprise,” said Sherry Kwater, Chief Nursing Officer, Penn State Hershey. “Before using this automated labor management technology we didn’t have an effective way to post and fill staffing needs. Smart Square allows us to have a paperless, precise, and timely staff needs posting, creating enterprise transparency and consistency, allowing us to provide cost-effective quality care to our patients.”

The Penn State Hershey Medical Group is also implementing Avantas’ business intelligence tools and Smart Square dashboards across its more than 70 practice sites, providing in-depth analysis of the entire health system’s labor workforce and operational practices. This includes identifying utilization trends, designing strategies based on demand information, outlining the workforce demographic, identifying trends in staff dissatisfiers, and quantifying high-margin opportunities.

“Our industry is facing unprecedented change and health care organizations will be continually challenged to get the most benefit from every dollar spent,” said Sherri Luchs, Chief Administrative Officer, Penn State Hershey Medical Group. “Through our partnership with Avantas, we intend to gain greater flexibility and increased efficiency to achieve maximum value to effectively meet the staffing needs of each of our practices.”

“As healthcare professionals, we took a clean slate approach to building comprehensive strategies and tools for our clients – something very different from the ‘mega-suite’ solutions adapted to healthcare from other industries,” said Chris Fox, CEO, Avantas. “When our HELM strategy is deployed at this level, and has strong buy-in from our clients, it quickly improves employee satisfaction and results in significant cost savings.”

HELM represents a disruptive innovation for the healthcare industry, challenging organizations to rethink what is possible with regard to labor management in all departments. Avantas has leveraged unique client experiences across large, multi-site healthcare organizations to detail effective methodologies that help them rise above departmental silos and implement a consistent and effective way to integrate labor across the enterprise.

About Penn State Milton S. Hersey Medical Center
Founded in 1963 through a gift from The Milton S. Hershey Foundation, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is one of the leading teaching and research hospitals in the country. The 491-bed Medical Center is a provider of high-level, patient-focused medical care. The Medical Center campus also includes Penn State College of Medicine (Penn State’s medical school), Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, and Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital—the region’s only children’s hospital. The Medical Center campus is part of Penn State Hershey Health System, which also includes the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, Penn State Hershey Rehabilitation Hospital, and other specialty facilities.

About Avantas
Developers of the HELM™ methodology (healthcare enterprise labor management), Avantas is devoted to serving the healthcare industry. Its proprietary approach to managing labor consists of consulting services and a scheduling and productivity solution, Smart Square®. This comprehensive approach provides its clients with tailored best practice labor management strategies designed to drive substantial and sustaining cost and quality improvements across the enterprise through automation. For more information, please visit the Avantas website at www.Avantas.com.

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March 27, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

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Merge Seeing Rapid Adoption of New OrthoPACS Solution

More Than 650 Providers Select New Image Management and Digital Templating Solution

CHICAGO, March 19, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Merge Healthcare Incorporated (Nasdaq:MRGE), a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare, today announced more than 650 orthopedic surgeons at more than 50 practices already have or in the process of implementing Merge OrthoPACSTM, a comprehensive image management and digital templating solution for orthopedics. In addition, many of the more than 500 practices that are using legacy technology from Merge plan to upgrade to Merge OrthoPACS in 2013.

“In 2012, we announced the release of Merge OrthoPACS, a comprehensive image management and digital templating solution for orthopedics,” said Jeff Surges, CEO of Merge Healthcare. “With the large number of practices that have already decided to upgrade, it means there are already hundreds of surgeons taking advantage of this new solution. We’re extremely pleased to see this rapid adoption and it successfully demonstrates our large investment and commitment to the orthopedic market.”

OrthoVirginia recently decided to upgrade to the new Merge OrthoPACS. “For us the most important thing was the underlying technology and our ability to quickly and smoothly upgrade,” explained Taylor Mawyer, IT Manager for OrthoVirginia. “We know that the solution is sound and that Merge has been a leader in imaging for many years. The new, additional functionality was very welcome, but it all came down the ability for Merge to smoothly move us from our Styker Office PACS 4.1 to this next generation solution.”

Merge OrthoPACS, a comprehensive image management and digital templating solution for orthopedics, lets orthopedic surgeons access images taken at multiple locations in a single viewer, diagnose from anywhere at anytime, plan for surgery with digital templating, and securely archive studies. Orthopedic surgeons will find that the new solution seamlessly fits into and enhances their current workflow. For example:

−  Orthopedic-specific workflows are built into Merge OrthoPACS, from clinic use to the operating room.

−  The Merge OrthoPACS zero-footprint client viewer can be the sole viewer for an orthopedic practice. That means reading images will be no different whether a surgeon reads from their workstation, their iPad, or another device.

−  The Merge OrthoPACS viewer also provides access to pre-surgical templating, including advanced measurements and automated hip templating.

About Merge Healthcare

Merge is a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare. Merge’s enterprise and cloud-based solutions for image intensive specialties provide access to any image, anywhere, any time. Merge also provides health stations, clinical trials software and other health data and analytics solutions that engage consumers in their personal health. With solutions that are used by providers and consumers and include more than 25 years of innovation, Merge is helping to reduce costs and improve the quality of healthcare worldwide. For more information, visit merge.com.

The Merge Healthcare logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=10757

 

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I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

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LHP Hospital Group Selects Axiom EPM Suite for Enterprise Performance Management across Growing Portfolio of Joint Ventures

Unified Platform and Deep Healthcare Expertise Set Axiom EPM Apart from Competition

March 14, 2013 — Portland, OR — Axiom EPM, a leading provider of financial planning and performance management software for healthcare providers, today announced that LHP Hospital Group, Inc. (LHP), a privately held company established to provide essential capital and operational expertise to hospitals and healthcare systems, has expanded its use of the Axiom EPM platform to bolster financial strategy planning, capital planning, and consolidations as it continues to add new hospitals to its portfolio.

An Axiom customer since 2010, LHP has long used Axiom’s platform for financial budgeting, planning and reporting to provide visibility into the operational side of the business. As the company grew, their needs expanded beyond operational planning to include strategic planning. Axiom’s efficient and familiar Excel®-based interface, coupled with its ability to rapidly implement and deploy a single unified system for a wide range of strategic corporate and financial functions set it apart from the other systems LHP explored.  LHP will expand their use of Axiom EPM beyond budgeting and reporting to provide a much broader range of functions, including physician practice planning, productivity management, strategy management, capital planning, advanced analytics, dashboards and scorecards.

“We have consistently seen tremendous value from the Axiom platform,” said John Ehrie, Vice President of Strategic Financial Planning, LHP Hospital Group. “Doubling our portfolio in the last year led us to pursue leveraging all components of Axiom EPM’s strategic financial planning platform. Axiom EPM’s deep healthcare expertise, knowledge of LHP Hospital Group and balance of robust functionality, ease-of-use and value made it a clear favorite among our decision makers and stakeholders.”

LHP owns, operates and manages acute care hospitals through joint ventures, providing capital and expertise to healthcare organizations. As such, they face unique consolidation challenges for strategic planning and budgeting.

“One of our strengths is our ability to bring data together from multiple sources and formats into a single platform,” said Jay Spence, Director of Healthcare Solutions at Axiom EPM. “LHP values the accuracy, consistency, and ease of use associated with these solutions being offered on a unified platform. Many organizations share this consolidation challenge, but for LHP it entails a much deeper level of complexity as they manage several hospitals and health systems across the country. LHP’s addition of more Axiom EPM solutions is a testament to the strength of our solution as well as our strong and growing relationships with customers.”

Axiom EPM offers solutions specifically designed for healthcare provider organizations that unify financial planning and decision support functions in a single platform. Designed by experienced professionals, Axiom EPM’s flexible solutions address the complicated finance needs of a wide variety of organizations. The finance-friendly Excel® interface is easy to use, and provides finance executives with the tools they need to accurately measure key service line volume, cost and profitability analytics. Its applications promote end-user adoption as well as actionable participation across business processes.

About LHP Hospital Group, Inc.
LHP Hospital Group, Inc. (LHP) is a privately held company established to provide essential capital and expertise to not-for-profit hospitals and hospital systems. In cooperation with local hospitals, LHP forms joint ventures to acquire, own, operate and manage acute care facilities in select markets throughout the United States. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, LHP is owned by affiliates of the private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors, LLC and the CPP Investment Board as well as certain members of management and the board of directors. For more information, please go to www.lhphospitalgroup.com.

About Axiom EPM
Founded by industry leaders with over two decades of experience in enterprise planning and reporting, Axiom EPM delivers performance management solutions for mid-sized and large organizations around the world.  Solutions for budgeting and forecasting, reporting and analytics, strategy management, capital planning, profitability and cost management are delivered on a single unified platform.  Axiom EPM embraces and extends familiar Microsoft Excel® functionality, allowing finance professionals to manage data in a familiar environment – while providing unmatched modeling flexibility and enterprise performance.

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March 26, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

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Avantas to Showcase HELM™ approach to Healthcare Enterprise Labor Management at the AONE 46th Annual Meeting & Exposition

Healthcare Enterprise Labor Management Company to Demonstrate Scheduling and Staffing Tools and Services for Nursing; Company Will Also Issue Industry Survey Prior To, During Conference

OMAHA, Neb. – March 13, 2013 (AONE Booth #626) —Avantas, a leading provider of strategic labor management technology, services, and strategies for the healthcare industry, today announced that it will exhibit at the 2013 American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) 46th Annual Meeting & Exposition. Avantas will be showcasing its HELM™ methodology – a strategy that combines and embeds the science of workforce planning, demand forecasting, and operational best practices with Smart Square®, the only enterprise-wide labor management software solution designed by healthcare professionals for healthcare professionals.  Avantas is also conducting a workforce analysis survey in advance of the conference and at its AONE booth.

Prior to the conference, Avantas sent out an online survey to pre-registered attendees that sought to gauge their organization’s readiness to handle today’s challenging landscape relative to their ability to optimize their labor resources to cost-effectively meet patient demand. Avantas will release the results of this survey following the conference, offering valuable insight into current trends and related needs of the nursing community. To participate in the survey, go to the following link: www.avantas.com/AONE2013. Participants can complete the survey on site in the Avantas booth as well, though those who complete it in advance will be entered twice for a chance to win a Coach® handbag.

At its booth, Avantas will demonstrate its proprietary SaaS-based solution, Smart Square. This flexible platform consists of a robust and customizable set of scheduling and staffing tools that interfaces seamlessly with clients’ existing third party systems, including HRIS, EMR, Time & Attendance and Payroll systems, providing users with the ability to leverage their data with Smart Square’s business intelligence tools and dashboards. Originally designed to automate the entire staffing, scheduling, deployment and reporting processes for nursing departments, booth visitors will learn how the application has evolved into an enterprise-wide solution with capabilities for departments beyond the inpatient environment, allowing organizations to achieve seamless interdepartmental communications and alignment, cost savings, and efficient staff operations, among many other benefits.

“AONE provides us with an opportunity to meet with nursing executives and discuss how they can create an enterprise-wide view of their nursing resources, so they can optimize their workforce to meet the needs of their patients,” said Chris Fox, chief executive officer, Avantas. “Today, our clients are realizing the dramatic impact an enterprise labor management approach can have on their organizations’ clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, and operational efficiency. At Avantas, we are always looking for ways to improve our offerings to help our clients achieve the highest level of efficiency, and via the survey we will conduct at AONE, we hope to gain valuable insight into how nursing departments are preparing for current and upcoming industry challenges.”

About AONE

The American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) is the national professional organization for nurses who design, facilitate and manage care. With more than 8,500 members, AONE is the leading voice of nursing leadership in health care. Since 1967, the organization has provided leadership, professional development, advocacy and research to advance nursing practice and patient care, promote nursing leadership excellence and shape public policy for health care. AONE is a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association (AHA). For additional information, visit the AONE website at www.aone.org.

About Avantas

Developers of the HELM(TM) methodology (healthcare enterprise labor management), Avantas is an Omaha, Neb.-based company devoted to serving the healthcare industry. Its proprietary approach to managing labor consists of its consultation services and scheduling and productivity solution, Smart Square®. This comprehensive approach provides its clients with tailored best practice labor management strategies designed to drive substantial and sustaining cost and quality improvements across the enterprise through automation.  For more information, please visit the Avantas website at www.Avantas.com.

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March 25, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

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MetroHealth Selects ProVation Order Sets, powered by UpToDate Decision Support

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (March 12, 2013) — Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, announced today that MetroHealth has selected its ProVation® Order Sets, powered by UpToDate® Decision Support, software as its evidence-based order set solution.
ProVation Order Sets is an easily customizable order set authoring and management solution that provides flexible integration into clinical processes to streamline the delivery of standardized care for improved patient safety, outcomes, clinician performance and regulatory compliance. ProVation Order Sets is built upon ProVation Medical’s award-winning, clinician-designed technology platform. A key benefit is continuous updating of clinical content and medical evidence, including direct links to UpToDate, the resource of choice for more than 700,000 users worldwide.
Located in Cleveland, MetroHealth System is a comprehensive academic healthcare system and one of the largest healthcare providers in Northeast Ohio. It has 17 locations including its flagship campus, MetroHealth Medical Center, and has been a major affiliate of Case Western Reserve University since 1914. MetroHealth has a nationally renowned Level I trauma and burn center, an acclaimed critical-care transport program and is in the top 4% of hospitals in the U.S. to achieve Magnet® recognition for a second time.
“MetroHealth is committed to responding to the community’s needs, improving the region’s health status and controlling healthcare costs,” said Mike Haldane, Vice President and General Manager, Clinical Documentation, Wolters Kluwer Health, Clinical Solutions. “We are pleased it has selected ProVation Order Sets, powered by UpToDate Decision Support, to help achieve these goals by providing evidence-based order sets at the point of care.”
 
About ProVation Medical
ProVation® Medical provides procedure documentation and clinical decision support solutions for hospitals and Ambulatory Surgery Centers. ProVation MD and ProVation MultiCaregiver reduce transcription, paper storage and image printing costs and deliver a high Return on Investment (ROI). ProVation® Order Sets, powered by UpToDate Decision Support, and ProVation® Care Plans, powered by Lippincott’s Nursing Solutions, put evidence-based healthcare into practice by establishing and maintaining standards of care.
ProVation Medical is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company with 2012 annual revenues of €3.6 billion ($4.6 billion).
 
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I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

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Physicians Interactive and Health eVillages Launch HERO Mobile Healthcare Partnership with Regis College and Partners In Health

Nurse educator program will improve quality of healthcare provided in underserved regions of Haiti

Marlborough, MA – (March 7, 2013) – Physicians Interactive, the leading provider of online and mobile clinical resources and solutions for clinicians, today announced a partnership with Regis College and Partners In Health to improve healthcare in the most underserved regions of Haiti. The program will employ the services of Health eVillages, a program of Physicians Interactive and the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights which delivers critical healthcare information via mobile technology to clinicians practicing in challenging environments around the world.

The Health eVillages Regis College Outreach (“HERO”) program will sponsor two coordinators, one from Regis College and one from Haiti, providing them with the means and tools needed to help elevate the quality of care in the area around Hinche, a city in central Haiti. The health center in Hinche is run jointly by the Haitian Ministry of Health and Partners In Health, which has been delivering healthcare in Haiti for 25 years.  Regis College also sponsors an international nursing faculty initiative to educate nursing faculty in Haiti.

Health eVillages through Physicians Interactive will also provide up-to-date mobile clinical decision support and healthcare reference resources, including mobile device training, in March at Regis College in Weston, MA.  Through the HERO program, Health eVillages will not only sponsor the coordinators and nurses treating patients in Haiti, but will also support the health center by sending Regis’ nurse educators, armed with iPod Touches, to teach at Hinche twice a year.

“Regis College is proud to continue its work in improving patient outcomes in Haiti through our partnership with Physicians Interactive and Health eVillages,” said Regis College President Antoinette Hays, Ph.D., R.N. “With its limited resources, Haiti has long struggled with providing healthcare to residents in some of the most underserved regions of the country. The HERO program, along with Health eVillages, will help the Hinche health center provide quality care not just at the clinic level, but also in the surrounding rural areas whose residents may not be able to travel to Hinche.”

Under the program, the Haitian coordinator will receive training at Regis College on the Skyscape mobile app running on Apple iPad and iPod Touch devices. She will then return to Hinche to train her staff on how to use the devices to deliver better patient care at the health center and nearby rural areas. The devices have been updated with several new French-language medical apps to increase accessibility for the Haitian nurses, especially in the surrounding rural areas around Hinche.

“Physicians Interactive could not be more pleased to be an active partner with Regis College and Partners In Health in the HERO program,” said Donato Tramuto, CEO and Vice Chairman of Physicians Interactive and Founder and Chairman of Health eVillages. “Having partners on the ground in Haiti who have the experience, the relationships and the trust of their communities is a blessing for Health eVillages. We are not only excited to sponsor the introduction of nurse educators in Hinche, but we look forward to providing those caregivers with unmatched medical information and tools that will empower them to improve the quality of patient care.”

Health eVillages provides handheld devices, such as smartphones, iPod Touches and iPads, that include specialized medical reference content and clinical decision support tools to clinicians in developing countries. Healthcare professionals using Health eVillages devices saw more than 20,000 patients in 2012. Since the program launched in 2011, Health eVillages has put devices in the hands of more than 100 clinicians worldwide, enabling critical improvements to patient care in Kenya, Uganda, China, Haiti and rural Louisiana.

Physicians Interactive is a leading healthcare provider resource for medical information, medication sampling, patient benefits and mobile decision support via web, mobile and electronic health record channels. PI’s innovative solutions, including their PI Toolkit™ for electronic health records (EHRs), and OMNIO® medical app, help better connect healthcare professionals and life sciences companies in meaningful ways that improve the quality of patient care. To date, PI reaches a network of more than 900,000 physicians, nurses and allied health professionals in the United States, with more than two million downloads of its medical apps worldwide.

About Physicians Interactive

Physicians Interactive (PI) is the leading provider of online and mobile clinical resources and solutions that fit within the medical professional workflow to provide better patient care. We use the full power of our worldwide network of healthcare professionals and life sciences companies together in ways that will change the practice and business of medicine, for the better. PI has developed a foundation of user-generated, proprietary and public data that powers a networked suite of transactional applications, including EHR-based eCoupon and messaging, eSampling, multiplatform learning programs, and mobile solutions. With the recent acquisition of InfoMedics, PI has added patient education and adherence programs to its suite of solutions. Physicians Interactive is a division of Skyscape.com, Inc. For more information about PI, please visit www.Physiciansinteractive.com.

About Regis College

Regis College is a Catholic co-educational community that prepares undergraduate, graduate and continuing education students for engagement and service in a changing world. In the School of Liberal Arts, Education and Social Sciences and the School of Nursing, Science and Health Professions, approximately 2,000 students are enrolled in 25 undergraduate majors; 30 minors; 10 interdisciplinary pathways toward professional success; and master’s degree programs in applied behavioral analysis, education, communication, biomedical science, heritage for a global society, health administration, professional writing, regulatory and clinical research management, nursing, and a doctoral program in nursing practice.  With a strategic graduate focus on health care, Regis College was recently named a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education by the National League of Nursing for the second time. The College also provides accredited pre-school and kindergarten programs and a Life Long Learning Program (LLARC) for retired seniors. Visit Regis on the Web at www.regiscollege.edu.

About Partners In Health

Partners In Health (PIH) is a global health organization relentlessly committed to improving the health of the poor and marginalized. We build local capacity and work closely with impoverished communities to deliver high quality health care, address the root causes of illness, train providers, advance research and advocate for global policy change. Ninety-three percent of the funds we raise go to our programs in the ten countries where we work, including Haiti, Rwanda, Russia, Peru and the United States. For more information please visit www.pih.org.

About Health eVillages

Health eVillages, a program of the not-for-profit Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights and Physicians Interactive, provides state-of-the-art mobile health technology including medical reference and clinical decision support resources to medical professionals in the most challenging clinical environments around the world. For more information about Health eVillages, please visit http://www.healthevillages.org/.

 

 

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March 7, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

Filed Under: EMR
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Riverside Healthcare Customer Case Study – Deployment protects distributed network of healthcare facilities from the latest threats, comply with new regulatory requirements

Riverside Healthcare Selects Fortinet® Enterprise-Class Network Security Platforms to Help Protect its Distributed Network of Healthcare Facilities from the Latest Threats, Comply with New Regulatory Requirements and Lower IT Costs

FortiGate, FortiAP and FortiMail Platforms Provide Cutting Edge Protection Against the Latest Advanced Persistent Threats; Simplified Management and a Lower TCO than Competing Security Platforms

SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 5, 2013 - Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT) – a world leader in high-performance network security – today announced that Riverside Healthcare has deployed a multitude of Fortinet appliances to help protect its distributed network of healthcare facilities from the latest threats, comply with new regulatory requirements and to help lower their overall IT costs. Riverside has selected the FortiGate-1000C, FortiGate-80C, Fortimail-400C and FortiAP-221B platforms to provide encryption, advanced malware and messaging protection and wireless control throughout its core network, which hosts numerous applications for its distributed affiliate organizations.

“Fortinet’s network security platform allows us to address the latest compliance requirements and implement new IT services while lowering costs through consolidation,” said Erik Devine, CSO of Riverside Healthcare. “Our network of doctors and colleagues are continually impressed with our ability to quickly address the latest security challenges, such as providing secure BYOD for employees and patients and protecting against advanced persistent threats, all while maintaining compliance with strict regulatory requirements.”

The Fortinet platforms provide Riverside with firewall, IPSec VPN, SSL VPN, antivirus, intrusion prevention, application control and Web content filtering protection. In addition to protecting Riverside, its affiliates and customers from the latest threats, the platforms offer a simplified management console that reduces IT complexity and lowers total cost of ownership.

Prior to selecting Fortinet, Riverside used a combination of network security vendors to secure patient records and meet regulatory requirements; however they ultimately found this approach too difficult to manage on a day-to-day basis and proved to be extremely costly over time. Using Fortinet’s security platforms, Riverside was able to consolidate their security infrastructure, reduce costs and achieve compliance with Federal regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

About Riverside Healthcare

Riverside HealthCare is a fully integrated healthcare system serving the needs of patients throughout the Illinois counties of Kankakee, Iroquois, Will, Grundy and beyond. Riverside HealthCare is composed of five separate entities:

Riverside Medical Center is located in Kankakee, Illinois and is part of Riverside HealthCare, a fully integrated healthcare system. Riverside Medical Center is a 325-bed hospital that provides a full scope of inpatient and outpatient care. Riverside is a nationally-recognized, award-winning hospital with leading programs in heart care, cancer care, neurosurgery and orthopedics. It is the area’s only Magnet® Recognized hospital and has been named a 100 Top Hospital four years in a row. Riverside also operates several community, primary and specialty health centers throughout the region.

Sojourn, a Riverside community, addresses the health care needs of the area’s elderly population. The four facilities that are a part of Riverside Senior Living Center include: Butterfield Court, an assisted living facility, Miller Center, a skilled nursing facility and Westwood Oaks/Westwood Estates, independent retirement communities.

Oakside Corporation operates the Riverside Health Fitness Center and also coordinates community counseling programs, pharmacy, health equipment sales and leasing and home health care.

Riverside HealthCare Foundation raises funds for the health system for use in facility construction and repair, new equipment acquisition, community health care education initiatives and clinical research.

Riverside Health Fitness Center is a 70,000 square foot medically-based fitness center owned and operated by Riverside HealthCare. It is a world class center that reflects Riverside’s commitment to improving the health and fitness of the community.

“Riverside Healthcare is a great example of a healthcare organization that is taking full advantage of Fortinet’s breadth and depth of products. They recognize that network security is more than just a firewall or a single point product that satisfies a single security function,” said Mark Hanson, director of healthcare sales at Fortinet. “The combination of FortiGate, FortiMail and FortiAP wireless access points provides a world-class security solution while addressing the budgetary constraints in healthcare of needing to do more with less.”

The full case study can be downloaded here: http://www.fortinet.com/sites/default/files/casestudies/Riverside-CaseStudy.pdf

Follow Fortinet Online: Twitter at: www.twitter.com/fortinet; Facebook at: www.facebook.com/fortinet; YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/user/SecureNetworks.

About Fortinet (www.fortinet.com)
Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) is a worldwide provider of network security appliances and a market leader in unified threat management (UTM). Our products and subscription services provide broad, integrated and high-performance protection against dynamic security threats while simplifying the IT security infrastructure. Our customers include enterprises, service providers and government entities worldwide, including the majority of the 2012 Fortune Global 100. Fortinet’s flagship FortiGate product delivers ASIC-accelerated performance and integrates multiple layers of security designed to help protect against application and network threats. Fortinet’s broad product line goes beyond UTM to help secure the extended enterprise – from endpoints, to the perimeter and the core, including databases and applications. Fortinet is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., with offices around the world.

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March 6, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

Filed Under: EMR
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Cisco Study Reveals 74 Percent of Consumers Open to Virtual Doctor Visit

Results of Global Customer Experience Report Focused on Health Care Demonstrate Shift in Consumer Attitudes Toward Personal Data, Telemedicine and Access to Medical Information 

New Orleans – March 4, 2013 – Cisco today announced at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Conference the results of the Cisco Customer Experience Report focused on health care.  The global report examined the perceptions of consumers and health care decision makers (HCDMs) on the patient experience in health care.

The results of the report demonstrate that as information, technology, bandwidth, and integration of the network become the center of the “new world,” both human and digital aspects are key parts to the overall patient experience. These components lead to more real-time, meaningful patient and doctor interaction.

The survey studied the views of consumers and HCDMs on sharing personal health data, participating in in-person medical consultation versus remote care and using technology to make recommendations on personal health.  Views on these topics differed widely between the two groups (consumers and HCDMs) and the ten geographies surveyed.

The global report conducted in early 2013, includes responses from 1,547 consumers and HCDMs across ten countries.  Additionally, consumers and HCDMs were polled from a wide variety of backgrounds and ages within each country.

Privacy and Personal Service
This portion of the survey focused on how comfortable consumers and HCDMs are with sharing personal health and medical information for a better experience. Overall, health care practitioners were more willing to share personal and private information than patients or other citizens. The degree to which all clinicians, patients and citizens are willing to share personal health information and to improve the quality of care varies by geography.

Key findings:

·         Most consumers are comfortable with having all of their health records securely available on the cloud except for those in Germany and Japan.

·         Nearly half of the consumers surveyed and two-thirds of the HCDMs surveyed would be comfortable sharing and receiving health information through social media channels.

·         Most North American consumers – nearly eighty percent – are comfortable submitting a complete medical history and diagnostic information to help ensure they have all the information available to treat them and offer the most personal diagnosis possible. Ninety percent of Russian consumers expressed comfort, while fifty percent of Japanese customers expressed discomfort with the idea of submitting DNA.

·         Though roughly half of HCDMs believe data protection is adequate for protecting health and medical data privacy in their respective countries, fewer consumers believe data protection is adequate. The largest discrepancy among consumers and HCDMs is observed in Brazil, as approximately two-thirds of consumers feel data protection in their country is adequate while about 8 in 10 HCDMs believe otherwise.  In the U.S., close to sixty percent of HCDMs expressed confidence while only forty percent of consumers shared that sentiment.

In-Person vs. Virtual Customer Service
The report findings challenged the assumption that face-to-face interaction is always the preferred health care experience. While consumers still depend heavily on in person medical treatments, given a choice between virtual access to care and human contact, three quarters of patients and citizens would choose access to care and are comfortable with the use of technology for the clinician interaction.

Key findings:

·         Three quarters of consumers indicate they are comfortable with the idea of communicating with doctors using technology instead of seeing them in person.

·         In China, Russia and Mexico, nearly three-quarters of consumers would be comfortable communicating with a specialist using virtual technology (e.g. video chatting, text messaging) for a health condition.

·         More than 60 percent of consumers from Germany, Japan and the U.S. indicate being comfortable with the idea of being treated by a specialist using virtual technology.

·         Patients and citizens will give up anything, including cost, convenience and travel, to be treated at a perceived leading health care provider to gain access to trusted care and expertise.

How Much Do Consumers and HCDMs Rely on Technology?
As machines become connected and networked, they play an even larger role in the overall health care experience. Interest in accessing health information on mobile devices is growing rapidly and is the No. 1 topic of consumer interest In Mexico, Brazil and China.

Key findings:

  • About 4 in 10 consumers indicate they would be interested in receiving recommendations about doctors, hospitals, medication, etc., automatically through their computer or mobile devices.
  • While the majority of consumers who have health care apps on their mobile devices indicate their apps are related to healthy eating and exercise, 25 percent indicate they are for chronic disease management.
  • Nearly one in four indicates receiving health-related reminders on their device.

Supporting Quote: 

•       “The patient and care provider experiences are top of mind in health care around the world.  Due to the increasing convergence of the digital and physical, there is an opportunity to provide increased collaboration and information sharing among providers to improve the care experience and operate more efficiently,” said Kathy English, Public Sector and Healthcare Marketing, Cisco.

About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco’s trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

Post a Comment(0)
March 4, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

Filed Under: Cloud Computing
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