Healthcare IT News - July 2008 - (Page 32)

32 Healthcare IT News ■ July 2008 vENdoRS www.HealthcareITNews.com NHs Continued from page 31 take on more work subject to the right commercial terms. We can also confirm that we are in discussions with CfH around taking on the eight existing Fujitsu Cerner systems in the south, but it is too early to say anything else at the moment.” As BT is being eyed as the most likely candidate to take over, the question focuses on what this will mean for Kansis City basedCerner – whose Cerner Millenium software is deployed at the eight NHS trusts. A spokeswoman for NHS CfH said, “We are unable to comment at this point in time” concerning how BT’s role might affect Cerner. Sean W. Wieland, Sr., research analyst for Piper Jaffray & Co, said, “I don’t think Cerner will be impacted too much – (it) sounds like BT is going to roll in and take over for the south, so (it) should be very little disruption for Cerner.” He added, “I think it’s still up in the air what’s going to happen with the remaining trusts – if they decide to keep it centralized, it will most likely fall into BT’s hands. If they let the trusts choose from a menu, then Lorenzo will certainly pick up some of the other trusts in London.” Lorenzo, which is a software product from iSoft, is the other electronic health records technology that is being deployed in England as part of the NHS project. However, the technology has faced major delays in its rollout, according to recent reports. Analyst Richard Close, managing director of equity research for Jefferies & Company, Inc., said, “We do not believe that Cerner will be impacted by the termination of Fujitsu. However, we will continue to monitor the situation.” “Previous examples shown with Accenture stepping aside as a prime vendor and CSC stepping in to replace did not impact the software provider iSoft at the time. We suspect that possibly BT could step in to replace GE, UPMC join forces in digital imaging venture By BErNIE MoNEgaIN, Editor PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and GE Healthcare have teamed up to create a new digital imaging company called Omnyx. Each will invest $20 million in the venture. Omnyx will develop and bring to market digital imaging systems for pathologists. The idea, officials said, is to make it possible for pathologists to move away from microscopes and glass slides. Omnyx’s digital platform will be designed to enable clinicians to share images virtually, interpret results using advanced algorithms and reduce costs associated with diagnosis. The benefit to patients could include reducing medical errors, improving the turnaround time for lab results and integrating pathology information as part of the patient’s electronic medical record, GE and UPMC officials say. “Digital pathology provides a platform for the creation of new tools that will help pathologists screen large numbers of slides in search of a small nest of cells or a few bacteria to quickly and accurately diagnose disease,” said George K. Michalopoulos, MD, professor and chairman of the Department of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh and pathologist at UPMC. GE and UPMC appointed Gene Cartwright, a 26-year healthcare veteran and former president of GE Healthcare’s molecular diagnostics unit, as chief execu- “digitizing pathology will allow omnyx to provide doctors with BEttER toolS FoR tHE Full CaRE CoNtINuum, enhancing their decision-making capabilities in key disease areas.” – Gene Cartwright tive officer of Omnyx. “This new company will revolutionize patient care and expand GE’s vision for early health – the ability to diagnose disease at the earliest possible stage, which in turn can lead to more effective treatment and monitoring,” said Cartwright. “Digitizing pathology will allow Omnyx to provide doctors with better tools for the full care continuum, enhancing their decision-making capabilities in key disease areas.” “This innovative collaboration with GE will help to address the critical cost and quality issues facing healthcare today,” said Jeffrey Romoff, president and chief executive officer at UPMC. “The formation of Omnyx underscores UPMC’s strategy of leveraging its medical, technology and research expertise to create solutions that benefit patients worldwide.” ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: DiGital 0708 The Cerner Corp., based in Kansas City, Mo., has a stake in Britain’s National Programme for IT. Its Millennium software is used by both Fujitsu – which dropped out of the NHS Connecting for Health project – and BT, which could step in and replace Fujitsu. Fujitsu, as it makes the most sense since BT and Cerner already have a relationship with the NHS,” Close added. Don Trigg, a Cerner vice president and executive with BT’s United Kingdom unit, released this statement concerning his companies future role in the NHS project: “Cerner remains strongly committed to its business in the United Kingdom, which includes our ongoing efforts supporting the London program and the national Choose and Book system. We are working closely with NHS Connecting for Health and our partners to ensure hospital staff and clinicians in the south of England get the support they need.” ■ Do you think that Cerner is safe after the Fujitsu fall-out? And is Cerner in the best position to continue with these trusts? E-mail Associate Editor Molly Merrill at molly.merrill@medtechpublishing.com. More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: NHS 0708 ● fax Continued from page 31 ● he says, is a good introduction to turning paper records into an electronic format. “Some of our EMR vendors look at the faxing solution as the first step toward an CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN HEALTHCARE INFORMATION AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS HIMSS is proud to offer the Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management (CPHIMS) certification—health IT’s gold standard credential. Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Be CPHIMS Certified 1 Expertise – Apply your knowledge with authority and confidence 2 Credibility – Gain professional clout industry-wide 3 Opportunity – Fast forward your career in new directions 4 Excellence – Uphold the highest industry standards and regulations 5 Recognition – Be part of an elite, highly respected group 6 Distinction – Set yourself apart in the industry 7 Achievement – Demonstrate your mastery of proven, broad-based HIT concepts 8 Evidence – Validate your knowledge and experience 9 Resources – Leverage the right skills and tools to make a difference 10 Commitment – Prove your dedication to your career and the industry YOU should be CPHIMS certified…Get all the details today at: www.himss.org/getcertified EMR,” he said. Nasto sees Sfax as the alternative to an expensive secure e-mail technology solution. “We’re a digital certificate authority,” he says, creating an electronic signature that is far more reliable than a digital one. In addition, he says, whereas a physician’s office could spend two hours a day in manual faxing, Sfax reduces the time spent on that process to less than 20 minutes. The biggest hurdle in getting Sfax into the market, Nasto contends, is visibility. In other words, the fax machine may sit in most doctors’ offices, but it’s rarely regarded with anything more than a passing nod. “Faxing is a routine, so doctors don’t really think anything of it,” says Nasto. “They don’t realize there’s a solution out there. As a result, it’s often hard to get an office manager’s attention because so many people are trying to get their foot in the door.” SecureCare Technologies recently made an inroads in the home healthcare industry with a partnership with Thornberry Limited, a Lancaster, Pa.-based developer of clinical management software for the homecare industry. The Sfax system was made available to Thornberry customers on June 1 and is being implemented at Twin Tier Home Health in Vestal, N.Y. “By offering the ability to automatically send, receive and track documents without the need to print, all from within the patient electronic record, we’re giving users of Thornberry’s point of care system a way to drastically slash their costs associated with manual faxing, as well as greatly simplify administration and speed workﬂow,” said Tom Peth, Thornberry’s president. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: FaX 0708 ● http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9568 http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9566 http://www.himss.org/getcertified http://www.himss.org/getcertified http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9565

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Healthcare IT News - July 2008 Contents IT’s Financial Link eRx Power SOA Q&A Bent on Wireless Digital Switch IT Legacy Change Agent Panasonic 'Book' Taking a Shift Computer Types

Healthcare IT News - July 2008

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