Medsphere Adds VueCentric Graphical Framework to Growing Line of Healthcare Open Source Tools

Medsphere Systems Corporation, the leading provider of Open Source healthcare IT solutions, today introduced VueCentric(R), a graphical user interface (GUI) framework used in hundreds of healthcare facilities nationwide that integrates patient information from disparate applications and delivers a user-friendly presentation of clinical data to healthcare providers.

VueCentric expands Medsphere’s portfolio of Open Source healthcare IT solutions, which includes the OpenVista(R) electronic health record (EHR) system, the company’s flagship product. A commercialized version of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ comprehensive VistA solution, OpenVista is now in use at healthcare facilities and care delivery organizations across the country.

For the U.S. government’s Indian Health Service (IHS) healthcare delivery network, VueCentric serves as the GUI for the Resource and Patient Management System (RPMS), a comprehensive and fully integrated solution managing clinical, business practice and administrative information. The combined effectiveness of VueCentric and RPMS recently enabled Cherokee Indian Hospital, a tribal facility that uses RPMS, to be recognized with the 2008 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Davies Award in Public Health. The Davies Award recognizes excellence in the implementation and use of health information technology. Medsphere provides ongoing support and development for VueCentric at this and other tribal and IHS facilities.

“Cherokee Indian Hospital has always been an early adopter of technology,” said Howard Hays, RPMS program manager at the IHS Office of Information Technology. “VueCentric has been an important tool for us, enabling providers, nurses, and other staff to seamlessly access, view and enter critical patient information via a familiar and comfortable interface. The result is improved clinical and operational decision making and enhanced patient care that has helped Cherokee Indian Hospital uphold its tradition of excellence in healthcare.”

As is true with components of OpenVista, the roots of VueCentric are found in the VA’s Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) GUI. VueCentric is designed, however, to be easily deployed and incorporates functionality from applications created in different environments. Built as a technical infrastructure and not an end-user application, VueCentric integrates and displays components of both commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) applications and those from VistA/RPMS. The result is an easy-to-use, intuitive Windows-based desktop providing ease of access to RPMS and VistA systems.

VueCentric also delivers access to key features for healthcare providers, including patient education, clinical documentation, medication management, patient scheduling and throughput, and a complete EHR for informed decision making. The solution boasts several key capabilities:

 --  Accessibility and Intuitiveness: Clinical functions are visually and     operationally integrated to be accessible and intuitive for users     comfortable with Windows programs. --  Flexibility: VueCentric effectively incorporates functionality from     applications created in different environments and technologies. --  Easy Customization: The user interface permits each facility to offer     a range of tabs and components that accommodate diverse work flows and     requirements for specific patient information. --  Scalability: VueCentric architecture has no inherent limitations of     scale. --  Efficiency: All data generated as part of a patient record is stored     in the RPMS database and does not require a separate server to run.      

“With the addition of VueCentric, Medsphere is providing another essential tool for the healthcare community,” said Michael J. Doyle, CEO of Medsphere. “As demonstrated by Cherokee Indian Hospital, VueCentric helps staff and physicians get a clearer picture of patients’ clinical records. That, in turn, enables healthcare providers to practice better care. We are excited to provide continued leadership in the evolution of healthcare IT.”

About Medsphere Systems Corporation

As the Open Source source for healthcare, Medsphere is revolutionizing the industry by delivering commercially supported software based on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ proven VistA EHR. Medsphere offers healthcare an economically sustainable and comprehensive solution in OpenVista, a portfolio of products and professional services for hospitals, clinics, and integrated delivery networks. OpenVista enables hospitals and other healthcare facilities to reduce operating costs and improve patient care more rapidly and inexpensively than other approaches. The company also addresses the capital constraints of the healthcare industry through an innovative subscription-based pricing model. Medsphere’s experienced team of healthcare technology professionals and unique suite of implementation tools deliver a fluid transition to a comprehensive healthcare information technology solution. Founded in 2002, Medsphere is backed financially by Azure Capital Partners, Thomas Weisel Venture Partners, and EPIC Ventures (formerly the Wasatch Venture Fund). For more information, visit http://www.medsphere.com.

 Contacts:  Medsphere Systems Rick Jung Chief Operating Officer (760) 692-3700 office [email protected]  Media Marisa Borgasano and Lily Eng Schwartz Communications for Medsphere (415) 512-0770 [email protected]

SOURCE: Medsphere