IDXC Idx Systems (MM)

Expanded Clinical Functionality Will Support Development of a Community-Based Health Record OWENSBORO, Ky. and BURLINGTON, Vt., Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Owensboro Medical Health System (OMHS) today announced that it will upgrade its enterprise clinical system to the next-generation IDX(R) Carecast(TM) solution from IDX Systems Corporation (NASDAQ:IDXC). OMHS has also signed an agreement for IDX(R) Groupcast(TM) to manage professional billing and administrative capabilities in the organization's ambulatory clinics. Both agreements were signed in Q2 2005. With its Carecast upgrade, OMHS plans to create a community-based electronic health record available across the organization's service area, encompassing 11 counties in western Kentucky and southeastern Indiana. OMHS also plans to roll out Groupcast to local providers on an ASP basis, making it possible for these small practices to utilize the software's advanced billing and scheduling functionality without incurring the expense of buying and maintaining the necessary hardware. "As the only regional electronically integrated healthcare provider in our service area, we feel a deep obligation not only to our individual patients but to the region as a whole," said OMHS President and CEO Jeffrey Barber, Dr.P.H. "The ability to integrate inpatient and outpatient records, and to have all of that information available to every member of the patient's care team, is a quantum leap forward in our ability to provide the best possible care as we strive to improve the health of the communities we serve." OMHS first implemented IDX(R) LastWord(R), the predecessor to Carecast, more than four years ago. The system is used for registration and clinical documentation, as well as to manage other clinical data. Nurses at the 447-bed hospital use wireless laptops on wheeled carts for easy and secure access to the patient's record, whether at the bedside or at the nurses' station. While onsite at OMHS, many physicians access their patients' real-time clinical information via PDAs using MData(R) Mobile from IDX alliance partner MercuryMD. In addition, the majority of the 182 physicians on active staff at OMHS are using a secure Internet portal, based on IDX technology, to remotely monitor their hospitalized patients. For these independent providers, most of them in solo or small group practices as far as 50 miles from Owensboro, the ability to see real-time information about a hospitalized patient's condition is invaluable. The enhanced functionality in Carecast will enable providers to enter clinical data from outpatient visits, as well as prescriptions and other orders, directly into a comprehensive lifetime medical record. Interdisciplinary care plans will facilitate collaboration among different providers, enhancing the quality of care patients receive. Access to the record is secure, ensuring that only those providers authorized to read or enter data can do so. "As a tertiary care center with a largely rural service area, OMHS is using technology to overcome geography, connecting far-flung providers with a unified electronic medical records system," said Mike Raymer, Senior Vice President and General Manager, IDX Carecast Operating Unit. "We're honored to work with OMHS as they implement their vision of a multi-state community health record that spans inpatient and outpatient care." "The decision to upgrade from LastWord to Carecast was straightforward, given the enhanced functionality we'll be able to implement," said Gordon Rohweder, Senior Vice President and CIO of OMHS. "Over the past seven years we have developed a strong partnership with IDX, based in part on a common vision of an integrated, community-wide health record. Plus, the system is incredibly reliable. Since we first went live on LastWord in 2000, the only unscheduled system downtime we've had was caused by a complete loss of power to the computer room." Dr. David Danhauer, an OMHS technology champion, also emphasizes that IDX and OMHS share a common vision of the community-wide benefits of electronic health records. At the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual meeting in 2005, Dr. Danhauer toured the IDX Digital Healthcare Community, a walk-through demonstration of a community health record in action. He describes this experience as pivotal to shaping OMHS's plan for an electronic health record spanning the continuum of care. "After touring the IDX Digital Healthcare Community at HIMSS, it was clear that IDX is on track with both our efforts to establish a community health record and the federal initiatives to deliver electronic medical records for all patients," said Dr. Danhauer, who has been an enthusiastic supporter of OMHS' Carecast implementation. About Owensboro Medical Health System Owensboro Medical Health System serves the healthcare needs of an eleven- county area in Western Kentucky and Southern Indiana with a mission to heal the sick and to improve the health of the community. OMHS is a full service hospital, licensed for 447 beds and employing a workforce of 2,400. About IDX(R) Carecast(TM) Carecast is a fully integrated clinical, financial and administrative system, combining core clinical processes for orders, results, pharmacy and clinical documentation with administrative and financial processes for scheduling, registration, admitting, charging and billing. Representing the next generation of electronic clinical information solutions, Carecast delivers unsurpassed response time and reliability to support fast-paced clinical environments. The system automates workflow throughout the healthcare enterprise and enables rapid access to patient records across the care continuum, from admission to discharge, including inpatient and ambulatory care. The result is a comprehensive lifetime patient record that enhances the quality of care and promotes operational efficiencies. Developed by and for providers -- in collaboration with leading hospitals, clinicians and healthcare executives -- Carecast builds on 25 years of innovation with the IDX(R) LastWord(R) enterprise system. Customers include leading healthcare organizations in the U.S., Canada and Europe. About IDX Founded in 1969, IDX Systems Corporation provides information technology solutions to maximize value in the delivery of healthcare, improve the quality of patient service, enhance medical outcomes, and reduce the costs of care. Our systems are deployed to serve approximately 150,000 physicians and are installed at over 3,400 customer sites, including more than 850 group practices and approximately 370 integrated delivery networks servicing more than 500 hospitals. IDX also provides its enterprise clinical software as a subcontractor to BT, Local Service Provider for the United Kingdom National Health Service's National Programme for Information Technology, an initiative to establish electronic patient records for 50 million patients. The IDX web strategy includes browser technology, e-commerce and web-based tools -- built using Internet architecture -- that facilitates access for patients, physicians and care providers to vital health information and data managed by the IDX clinical, administrative, financial, and managed care products. IDX has approximately 2,400 full-time employees. IDX, Carecast and LastWord are registered trademarks or trademarks of IDX Investment Corporation. MData(R) Mobile is a registered trademark of MercuryMD. This press release contains forward-looking statements about IDX Systems Corporation that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are uncertainties or difficulties in developing new services, including Carecast, possible failure of IDX to realize the benefits of developing clinical guidelines, difficulties in implementing systems, possible deferral, delay or cancellation by customers of computer system or service purchase decisions, possible delay of system installations and service implementations, development by competitors of new or superior technologies, changing economic, political and regulatory influences on the healthcare and e-Commerce industries, possible disruptions in the national economy caused by terrorist activities and foreign conflicts, changes in product pricing policies, governmental regulation of IDX's software and operations, the possibility of product-related liabilities, and factors detailed from time to time in IDX's periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which important factors are incorporated herein by reference. IDX undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or changes in future operating results, financial condition or business over time. For more information contact: Catherine Sweeney Media Relations -- IDX Carecast 206.607.5462 Barbara W. Taylor OMHS Manager of Marketing/PR 270.688.2177 DATASOURCE: IDX Systems Corporation CONTACT: Catherine Sweeney, Media Relations of IDX Carecast, +1-206-607-5462, ; or Barbara W. Taylor of OMHS Manager of Marketing/PR, +1-270-688-2177, Web site: http://www.idx.com/

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