MedPlus, the healthcare information technology subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated , today announced that it has been awarded a contract to implement a clinical portal and information exchange for the Brooklyn Health Information Exchange (BHIX). Organized by Maimonides Medical Center and other healthcare organizations in New York, the BHIX is a not-for-profit corporation that will offer health information exchange services in Brooklyn, New York State's most populous borough. The MedPlus system will enable physicians and other healthcare workers to securely collect, manage and share patient information in real time from Internet-enabled locations across the BHIX's eleven partner organizations.
"Technology can optimize patient care, minimize the risk of medical errors, and reduce administrative and other operating costs," said Pamela Brier, president of Maimonides Medical Center and chairperson of the board of directors of the BHIX. "Our goal for the BHIX is to provide exceptional patient care and service through the strategic deployment of technology, and we believe MedPlus is the right vendor to help us achieve this goal."
Under terms of an agreement with Maimonides Medical Center, the contractor for the BHIX's clinical portal and information exchange project, MedPlus will provide consulting, project management, design and implementation services to deploy MedPlus' clinical portal, data exchange engine and document management and imaging system for sharing patients' medical records electronically across multiple facilities in Brooklyn. Additional terms of the contract were not disclosed.
The BHIX exchange, which is to be operational in July 2008, will employ MedPlus technologies to allow BHIX partners to aggregate and manage patient data in their own clinician practices, while also giving individual physicians and healthcare workers who are members of the BHIX access to patient data at different care settings. Authorized users will be able to access a portal through secure Internet-enabled workstations to view six key data elements of a patient's medical data: patient demographics; medication lists; allergies; advance directives; information on physicians treating the patient; and a medical problem list. In addition, healthcare workers will be able to employ paper-record scanning and indexing of advanced directives and patient consent forms.
"The BHIX is an innovative health information exchange in New York, one of the most progressive states to support the adoption of advanced technologies for improving patient care and safety," said Richard Mahoney, vice president, Healthcare Information Solutions at Quest Diagnostics and MedPlus president. "MedPlus' project for the BHIX places it among an elite group of healthcare information technology companies that can create a regional exchange incorporating both electronic and critical digitally scanned paper documents, managed and accessible at the point of care. By providing immediate and ready access to relevant data, the MedPlus and BHIX system will empower physicians with the information they need to provide the best possible care to their patients."
The BHIX contract is the first agreement announced by MedPlus that incorporates FirstGateways' data aggregation and exchange technologies and services since MedPlus acquired FirstGateways from First Consulting Group in September 2007. The BHIX's plan to build a clinical portal and information exchange has qualified for funding under the Healthcare Efficiency and Affordability Law for New Yorkers (HEAL NY), adopted in 2004 to invest up to $1 billion over four years to reform and reconfigure New York's healthcare delivery system. The first round of HEAL grants, known as HEAL I, were awarded to Maimonides for the BHIX clinical portal and information exchange project and other applicants in May 2006.
About the Brooklyn Health Information Exchange (BHIX)
Incorporated as an independent not-for-profit corporation in NY, the BHIX involves a collaboration of the leading acute, post-acute, and long-term healthcare providers serving residents of New York. The BHIX will provide a secure electronic infrastructure for sharing clinical information among multiple healthcare organizations, representing a continuum of care in Brooklyn. Scheduled to be operational in July 2008, the BHIX will facilitate care for approximately 200,000 patients. The BHIX's initial partners include Maimonides Medical Center, a 700-bed hospital that had almost 40,000 patient discharges last year; Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, a 600-bed hospital with almost 10,000 patient discharges last year; four nursing homes; three certified home-healthcare agencies; and two payers. The BHIX is designed to improve care as patients transition from departments or facilities, reduce service duplication, and afford physicians and other healthcare workers with fast access to patient information.
About MedPlus
MedPlus, the healthcare information technology subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics, is a leading developer and integrator of clinical connectivity and healthcare information exchange solutions that foster better patient care and improve business performance for healthcare institutions, physicians and patients. The company's Care360™ and ChartMaxx® solutions efficiently and securely collect, store, manage and integrate clinical information within an organization, enterprise, practice or community. Care360 is a patient-centric physician portal providing the 120,000 physicians enrolled to use the portal with tools to improve patient care and overall office efficiency. ChartMaxx, the award-winning electronic patient record system, has been implemented in more than 100 hospitals and integrated healthcare delivery networks and has more than 300,000 users. In September 2007, MedPlus acquired FirstGateways, a health information exchange system comprised of proprietary technologies that enable healthcare providers to access and manage a range of patient data at the point of care. For more information, visit http://www.medplus.com/
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics is the leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services that patients and doctors need to make better healthcare decisions. The company offers the broadest access to diagnostic testing services through its national network of laboratories and patient service centers, and provides interpretive consultation through its extensive medical and scientific staff. Quest Diagnostics is a pioneer in developing innovative new diagnostic tests and advanced healthcare information technology solutions that help improve patient care. Additional company information is available at: http://www.questdiagnostics.com/.
The statements in this press release which are not historical facts or information may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to be materially different. Certain of these risks and uncertainties may include, but are not limited to, competitive environment, changes in government regulations, changing relationships with customers, payers, suppliers and strategic partners and other factors described in the Quest Diagnostics Incorporated 2006 Form 10-K and subsequent SEC filings.
SOURCE: Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
CONTACT: Media, Wendy Bost, +1-973-520-2800; Investors, Laure Park,
+1-973-520-2900, both of Quest Diagnostics
Web site: http://www.questdiagnostics.com/
http://www.medplus.com/