Healthcare IT News - January 2009 - (Page 24) 24 Healthcare IT News January 2009 ■ www.HealthcareITNews.com NEWSBRIEFS SuNquESt SoFtWaRE uSEd at CaNCER tREatmENt CENtERS Sunquest Information Systems of Tucson, Ariz., has announced that the Cancer Treatment Centers of America has purchased Sunquest Collection Manager and will implement the technology at centers in Goodyear, Ariz., Philadelphia, suburban Chicago and Tulsa, Okla. Sunquest Collection Manager allows real-time transmission of lab orders to the care provider’s handheld device as well as certifying patient identification as part of the specimen collection process. CTCA has been a long-standing customer of Sunquest’s laboratory information systems software. Workforce modeling strikes a pose EmLogis helps hospitals choose their best schedules. By ErIC WICkluNd, Managing Editor HOUSTON – A company that earned its reputation designing staffing schedules for dialysis centers is setting its sights on other healthcare providers. Officials at Houston-based EmLogis say their workforce modeling product, called Generator, reduces thousands of schedules into a series of parameters. Healthcare officials then choose from among those param- “We’re not really selling an application. WE’RE SEllINg aN ENaBlINg tEChNologY.” – David Crawley eters – such as the schedule that offers the least amount of overtime or offers the most support to a particular department – to complete a staffing plan. “It’s really adaptive programming,” says Robert Bernard, MD, the company’s chief software architect. “We’ve taken workforce modeling and we’ve partitioned it.” Last July, the company implemented Generator at several dialysis clinics run by Dialysis Clinic, Inc., a Nashville, Tenn.-based operator of more than 200 outpatient clinics in the country. According to EmLogis CEO Martin Estill, the technology helped the clinics realize a savings of $500,000, reduced direct patient labor costs by 5 percent to 9 percent and eliminated overstaffing issues. “What they’ve done is taken staff and modElINg see page 28 aCtIvEhEalth maNagEmENt ExpaNdS ClINICal alERtS ActiveHealth Management of New York is expanding its clinical alert offerings, communicated through the ActivePHR personal health record, to include patient safety alerts based on alerts from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The alerts will inform members about potential problems with a medication, including risks associated with combining certain drugs, and encourage them to contact their doctor if symptoms occur. “Our new patient safety alerts will put specific, timely information into members’ hands,” said Greg Steinberg, MD, ActiveHealth’s chief medical officer. KLaS lists best vendors of 2008 By ErIC WICkluNd, Managing Editor OREM, UT – CaRdINal hEalth lauNChES dRug dISpENSINg StatIoN Cardinal Health of Dublin, Ohio, has launched the Pyxis MedStation 4000, an automated medication dispensing system that includes enhanced barcode scanning technology, the ability to block loading of specific medications and user-specific tracking of undocumented waste. In addition, the company has released a performance analytics service designed to transmit data from the Pyxis MedStation 4000 and infusion data from the Alaris System to Cardinal Health experts for review and analysis. TEPR looks to open the new year in style By ErIC WICkluNd, Managing Editor The Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, Calif., will host TEPR+ 2009, scheduled for Feb. 1-5 in the California resort community. mEdCalm oFFERS CoNtENt oN tElEhEalth SERvICES NEtWoRk Medcalm, a New York-based developer of audio-visual wellness products, is partnering with TeleHealth Services of Raleigh, N.C. to bring the pediatric-specific Blue Monkey Planet channel to hospitals and other healthcare providers. The two will join forces to launch Medcalm’s channel, which pairs wellness education with family-friendly video programs on the TeleHealth network, which manages more than 400 patient education systems around the country, including Johns Hopkins, the Cleveland Clinic and Children’s Memorial Hospital of Atlanta. More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: VeNDorS 0109 ● rganizers of the 25th annual Toward an Electronic Pa t i e n t Record (TEPR) conference and exhibition, scheduled for Feb. 1-5 in Palm Springs, Calif., are hoping a little punctuation will point the event in a new and more compelling direction. The conference, hosted by the Boston-based MRI Institute, has added a “+” to its name and taken advantage of a schedule change for the Health Information and Management Systems Society’s (HIMSS) annual show and exhibition, which will be held in Chicago in April. As a result, TEPR+ will precede HIMSS09 this year. “We will set the tone for the whole year,” said C. Peter Waegemann, the MRI Institute’s CEO and the driving force behind TEPR+. “People will o thE EvENt: TEPR+ 2009: Explore ➔ Compelling Options for Smarter Healthcare, the 25th annual conference and exhibition. WhEN aNd WhERE: FEB. 1-5, ➔ Healthcare IT vendors large and small received their Christmas presents early with the Dec. 15 announcement of KLAS’ best-performing healthcare software and services vendors. Topping the list is Epic Systems of Verona, Wis., which was recognized as the highest-performing vendor across all segments and received the top rating in several categories. Others on the so-called Top 20 list included 3M, FujiFilm, Sunquest and CTGS. Market research firm KLAS, based in Orem, Utah, has been ranking vendors in a number of software and professional services categories since 1998. Kent Gale, the company’s founder and chairman, said the firm conducts thousands of interviews each year and uses these interviews to add new categories and refine the selection process. “We enjoy putting a spotlight on the top performers,” he said. KLAS President Adam Gale said in a press release, “Today the objective of the report remains the same: To help healthcare providers make informed decisions, whether they’re looking to buy technology, review a current vendor, validate an operational decision or determine the right products to remain after a merger.” Navicure, an Atlanta-based provider of Web-based claims management solutions for physician practices, scored a KLAS honor for its clearinghouse services. “There is not a more gratifying compliment than to have klas see page 25 2009 in Palm Springs, Calif. hear what is going to happen in 2009.” Created initially as a means of advancing electronic medical records in healthcare, TEPR has struggled in recent years to maintain momentum and relevance. Last year the conference, held in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., drew less than 2,000 attendees but launched a successful yearlong project to prove the accessibility of medical records on cellphones and other wireless devices. Waegemann expects the portable platform afforded by TEPr+ see page 25 IT leaders see growth potential in 2009 for virtualization, security 273 IT leaders were surveyed at the CDW Corp.’s annual Partner Summit in Las Vegas on IT spending trends in 2009. 20% 20% 20% 31% 32% 34% e ● Connect: GraPHS 0109 SOURCe: THe CDW CORPORATION http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/vendors-news-briefs-10
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.