3M Supports CDC Initiative

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has selected 3M Health Information Systems to provide data mapping and terminology consulting services in support of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) BioSense public health initiative.

SAIC is the prime contractor to the CDC on BioSense implementation.

According to St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M, it will standardize and integrate patient data being sent to CDC and BioSense from major healthcare providers, pharmacies, and clinical laboratories nationwide.

The CDC's BioSense program seeks to provide early detection of a possible bio-terrorism threat or naturally occurring disease outbreak, and supports public health officials and scientists in situational awareness and effective public-health response.

Texas Healthcare Integrates ROAM

Texas Healthcare Network (THN) Inc., a technology service provider to healthcare organizations, has selected AnyWare Group's Role Oriented Access Management (ROAM) remote access technology.

AnyWare Group, based in New Brunswick, Canada, is a provider of customer-driven access solutions.

According to AnyWare, the software enables hospital administrators and physicians to retrieve and exchange information including patient records, test results and x-rays. ROAM`s remote access and communications infrastructure includes an integrated desktop portal, SSL VPN security, and role-based identity management, says the company.

THN intends to integrate ROAM into its preexisting communications infrastructure.

Iowa Medical Society Inks athenahealth Deal

The Iowa Medical Society (IMS), West Des Moines, Iowa, and athenahealth Inc., Watertown, Mass., have teamed to offer athenahealth's clinical and revenue cycle management services to Iowa physicians at preferred pricing.

In addition to helping individual practices, athenahealth stated it will share state-specific claim data with IMS that will help the medical society to substantiate and resolve problems with payers on behalf of its members.

Among athenahealth's features are:

• Proprietary payer knowledge, including a real-time database of payer rules and regulations.

• The ability to prevent denials by writing rules specifically designed for each practice.

• The ability to identify noncompliant payer behavior, including violation of prompt payment statutes.

• The ability to compare financial performance of individual areas within a practice and to benchmark performance against other practices.

• athenaclinicals — an electronic medical record service.

DR Systems Imaging Deals

San Diego-based DR Systems, makers of the Unity RIS/PACS, has signed five new contracts with healthcare facilities, totaling nearly $6.5 million.

According to DR Systems, the five new facilities contracts are with:

• Arizona Medical Clinic (Peoria, Ariz.)

• sSierra Vista Regional Medical Center (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)

• Valley Radiology Consultants (Escondido and Poway, Calif.)

• Excela Health (Greensburg, Pa.)

• Downey Regional Medical Center (Downey, Calif.)

The largest contracts, all over $1 million, were with Excela Health, Downey Regional Medical Center, and Valley Radiology Consultants, says the company.

Cerner Launches Healthy Plan

Kansas City, Mo.-based Cerner Healthe recently launched a combined health plan ID and payment cards with an integrated line of credit for healthcare consumers.

According to Cerner, it selected Greenwood Village, Colo.-based First Data Healthcare Services to provide it with healthcare payment card processing services, and UMB Healthcare Services to serve as the financial custodian, supporting debit card access and HSA services.

The company contends Cerner Healthe plans to integrate this new technology with other employer groups that utilize the Healthe claims administration services.

Premier PET Taps GE

Premier PET Imaging of Jacksonville, an outpatient facility in Jacksonville Fla., recently installed GE's Discovery ST PET/CT.

According to Barrington, Ill.-based GE Healthcare, its Discovery ST PET/CT was designed to produce images for studies in oncology, neurology and cardiology. It also enables studies in advanced cardiac perfusion.

PET/CT cardiac studies performed at Premier PET Imaging can also be used to gather ejection fraction, wall motion and calcium scoring data, which sometimes requires two or three separate examinations with other modalities, explains GE.

St. Barnabas Hospital Activates Eclipsys

The St. Barnabas Hospital, Bronx, N.Y., has activated Atlanta-based Eclipsys' Sunrise Ambulatory Care in the pediatric divisions at all three of its ambulatory care centers.

According to Eclipsys, St. Barnabas Hospital's clinicians are using the solution to electronically document care and view patient information in an electronic medical record (EMR). St. Barnabas Hospital's clinicians now have access — from their home, office, clinics and other locations across the healthcare organization — to an overview of a patient's previous visits.

The hospital and its associated facilities serve 300,000 ambulatory patients each year.

AHRQ and Epocrates Partner

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and Epocrates, Inc., have formed a partnership to facilitate clinicians' access to evidence-based recommendations that support decision-making at the point of care.

AHRQ synthesizes evidence and distills research findings into practical recommendations for effective care. According to the San Mateo, Calif.-based Epocrates, the company provides evidence-based electronic alerts to its network of more than 500,000 clinicians via mobile devices.

Huntsville Selects Wellsoft

Huntsville Hospital, a not-for-profit healthcare facility located in Huntsville, Ala., has selected Wellsoft Corporation's emergency department information system to facilitate patient throughput and improve clinical coordination. Wellsoft is a provider of emergency department software located in Somerset, N.J.

According to the company, its solution is designed to facilitate the hospital's migration to an electronic medical record system, resulting in a reduction of paper, verbal orders, and legible documentation.

SGMC Selects McKesson to Spearhead Safety

South Georgia Medical Center (SGMC), Valdosta, Ga., has selected McKesson to facilitate its recent patient safety initiative.

SGMC, a 335-bed regional referral facility, signed a multimillion dollar software, automation and consulting services agreement with the Alpharetta, Ga.-based technology division of McKesson Corp. McKesson explains that components of its Horizon Clinicals solutions and automation technologies will be deployed to upgrade clinical infrastructure and processes from the hospital pharmacy to the patient's bedside.

According to McKesson, its Horizon Meds Manager pharmacy information system and ROBOT-Rx robotic drug distribution system will facilitate the management, packaging, and dispensing of medication. A Web-based physician portal will give referring and staff physicians online access to patient information regardless of the clinician's location, explains McKesson.

The new solutions will complement SGMC's existing electronic document management system from McKesson, which was deployed in 2000.

Paramount Implements SunGard

Maumee, Ohio-based Paramount Health Care plans to implement SunGard's Exp Macess solution for document workflow, service forms, capture and storage technology. Paramount has been using I-MAX, the predecessor to the Exp Macess solution, since 2000.

According to Birmingham, Ala.-based SunGard, Exp Macess enables organizations to capture information as it enters the workplace and electronically distribute it through user-defined workflows. The company contends the solution combines business process management (BPM), enterprise content management (ECM), business activity monitoring (BAM), and enterprise application integration (EAI), into a unified IT architecture.

Exp Macess is scalable across departments and lines of business, says SunGard.

GHS Selects Omnicell

Greenville Hospital System (GHS), Greenville, S.C., a non-profit academic health organization comprised of five hospitals, has chosen Omnicell's automation technology for managing its medication-use process. Omnicell is a provider of systems software solutions, based in Mountain View, Calif.

GHS uses Omnicell's OptiFlex, an integrated system that combines open bar code and cabinet-based inventory management, for the management of materials and supplies.

Automated communication from OptiFlex allows for low-unit measure replenishment, according to the company. It has also allowed hospitals to move central storage away from clinical areas, and cut the number of semi-trucks moving in and out of the facility, says Omnicell.

NovaRad Inks PACS Contracts

Three Kentucky hospitals have recently selected NovaRad Corporation's imaging system, NovaPACS.

The facilities, all Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Hospitals, include:

• Jackson Purchase Medical Center in Mayfield

• Meadowview Regional Hospital in Maysville

• Spring View Hospital in Lebanon

NovaPACS is an enterprise-level PACS, offering image retrieval that allows referring physicians to access images and reports from any computer, says NovaRad, American Fork, Utah.

Philips Talks Telehealth

The Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) has selected Philips Consumer Health Solutions, based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, to provide telehealth products and services to its members.

According to Philips, its telehealth program will provide wireless telemonitoring measurement devices, clinical content — including patient education, validated health surveys and risk assessment tools — as well as service delivery and implementation support.

Under the terms of the agreement, Philips will also launch its Risk Assessment Service. The telephone-based screening service is designed to help agencies identify suitable patients for telemonitoring, says Philips.

Iowa Clinic Picks Up EHR

Physicians' Clinic of Iowa (PCI), a practice based in Cedar Rapids, has selected Intergy by Sage Software as its electronic health records (EHR) and practice management system.

Intergy is an integrated system that allows physicians and practice managers to input and modify patient data. Sage states that it has created customizable clinical forms, and provides integration between a patient's clinical and financial data.