BURLINGTON, Vt. and COLUMBIA, S.C., Feb. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IDX Systems Corporation , a leading provider of healthcare information systems, and Primetime Medical Software, a provider of knowledge databases to support the computer-assisted interviewing of patients, today announced an agreement to integrate the Primetime Instant Medical History solution and IDX(R) Patient Online(R). The integration of these solutions from IDX and Primetime is expected to make physician and patient interviews more accurate and efficient, enhance documentation and coding, and improve the flow of data to electronic medical records.
Patient Online eVisit technology provides a secure communication link between healthcare providers and their patients. It is a core part of the IDX patient-centered information technology (PCIT) strategy, which, in addition to supporting ongoing communication about both clinical and administrative matters, provides patients access to their medical records and supports collaborative chronic disease management. Patient Online can be customized and branded by IDX for each customer, so that its functionality becomes an integral part of a provider's web site.
In development since 1986, Instant Medical History(TM) from Primetime is designed to gather patient medical history and diagnostic information prior to physician visits. Patients respond to branching, multiple-choice questionnaires from an extensive medical knowledgebase. This provides physicians with more accurate and consistently presented preliminary information, resulting in a more focused and higher value in-person interview in support of better--and faster--diagnoses.
University of Colorado Hospital has been using Patient Online since 2002. As a result, patient satisfaction has significantly increased and the output of clinical staff has greatly improved. Based on a study of Patient Online users at the hospital, 81 percent of those surveyed noted that the service saved them a phone call to the clinic and 33 percent said it saved them a visit.
According to Chen-Tan Lin, MD, associate professor of medicine, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center (UCDHSC) and senior medical director of informatics, University of Colorado Hospital, the integration of structured medical interviewing technology from Primetime within Patient Online is expected to drive even greater improvements.
"As more doctor-patient communication moves online, the dependency on in person visits is reduced. Since we've adopted Patient Online from IDX, we've also moved away from the use of telephone," said Dr. Lin. "Because structured interviews align with how clinicians think and work, and because they eliminate some of the ambiguities associated with communications in free text, we expect that we will achieve faster, better diagnoses."
It is expected that University of Colorado Hospital will implement the integrated solution within the first half of 2005.
"The ability to gather a complete history of present illness information directly from patients supports the development of payer-reimbursed eVisits, an issue of growing importance to patients, physicians and payers," said Matthew Ferrante, CEO, Primetime Medical Software. "IDX is well positioned to capitalize on this opportunity, with outstanding technology and hundreds of customers who understand the power of technology to enhance the doctor-patient relationship."
"IDX's patient centered information technology strategy includes the integration of innovative solutions from leading companies like Primetime Medical Software," said James H. Crook, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, IDX. "This enhancement to Patient Online will help save patients' and physicians' time, support the automation of revenue collection, and improve the quality of data flowing into electronic health records-all in support of better patient care and improved business performance."
To see the integration of Patient Online and the Instant Medical History solution from Primetime, visit booth #2334 at the HIMSS Conference and Exhibition, February 13 - 17 in Dallas, TX.
About Primetime Medical Software
Since 1985, Primetime Medical Software, Inc. has been compiling medical knowledgebases for patient interviewing in electronic health records. Designed by physicians for use in the office and in eVisits, the knowledgebases contain questionnaires for more than six thousand distinct patient complaints. Physician productivity increases because as much as sixty percent of the medical data necessary to complete the visit note can be provided by patients and automatically documented in medical terminology through the Internet, in exam rooms, or in waiting areas before the encounter. For more information, visit the company on the Web at http://www.medicalhistory.com/.
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. IDX supports these objectives with a broad range of complementary and functionally rich products installed at 3,300 customer sites. Customers include 138,000 physicians who utilize practice management systems to improve patient care and other workflow processes. IDX software solutions are installed at:
* 380 integrated delivery networks (IDNs) representing more than 500
hospitals
* 175 large group practices with more than 200 physicians
* 665 mid-size group practices with less than 200 physicians
IDX also provides its enterprise clinical software as a subcontractor to BT and Fujitsu Services, Local Service Providers 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 2,100 full-time employees.
IDX and IDX Patient Online are trademarks or registered trademarks of IDX Investment Corporation.
Instant Medical History is a trademark of Primetime Medical Software, Inc.
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 and/or integrating new services and systems, difficulties in implementing systems, possible deferral, delay or cancellation by customers of computer systems 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 industry, 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: Bob Osmond Osmosis Communications, Inc. For IDX Systems Corporation bob@osmosiscommunications.com 802.472.3444 Matthew Ferrante Primetime Medical Software, Inc. ferrante@medicalhistory.com 803-796-7980
IDX Systems CorporationCONTACT: Bob Osmond of Osmosis Communications, Inc. for IDX SystemsCorporation, +1-802-472-3444, bob@osmosiscommunications.com; or MatthewFerrante of Primetime Medical Software, Inc., +1-803-796-7980,ferrante@medicalhistory.com
Web site: http://www.idx.com/