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First Statewide Electronic Prescribing Initiative Launched for All Physicians in the State of Nevada

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 October 2005, 12:02 CDT

Sierra Health Services & Clark County Medical Society to Fund Electronic Prescribing For All Physicians in Nevada

Sierra Health Services (NYSE:SIE), the State of Nevada's largest health plan is collaborating with the Clark County Medical Society in a major initiative to provide funding for electronic prescribing for all physicians practicing in the State of Nevada. Allscripts, (Nasdaq:MDRX), the leading provider of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions that physicians use to improve healthcare, has been selected to provide the electronic prescribing solution for this statewide program.

This unprecedented initiative goes hand-in-hand with today's announcement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, Michael Leavitt, who highlighted the importance of e-prescribing during a national press conference in Washington, D.C.

Sierra is collaborating with Nevada's largest medical society, the Clark County Medical Society, to promote the use of electronic prescribing to improve quality, reduce potential medical errors and improve patient satisfaction and convenience. Both organizations believe that by working together, they can rapidly drive physician adoption of electronic prescribing across the State.

Southwest Medical Associates (SMA), a unit of Sierra Health Services, has successfully deployed Allscripts Electronic Health Record to its nearly 250 medical providers. During the course of the last year, SMA's physicians wrote over one million electronic prescriptions for their patients, making them one of the country's leading electronic prescribing practices. Based on the success of this initiative at SMA, Sierra believed there was an opportunity to fundamentally improve how patient care was delivered throughout the state.

"As both an insurer and a provider of healthcare, Sierra is uniquely positioned to implement this emerging technology. Our adoption of e-prescribing, as well as electronic health records, has now made our clinics and treatment facilities virtually paperless," said Anthony Marlon, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sierra. "Once we began to see a return on our initial investment and an improvement in patient satisfaction and the quality of care delivered at SMA, we knew we had to find a way to make this technology available to all physicians in the State of Nevada. I am very pleased that through this collaborative effort, we will now be able to do so."

The Company determined that e-prescribing was the perfect starting point for this change, as Sierra's own experience showed a reduction in medical prescription errors and a significant improvement in utilization of generic prescription drugs.

Under the initiative, Allscripts provided Sierra Health Services with a reduced cost for e-prescribing. Physician members of the Clark County Medical Society, the state's largest medical society, will be eligible for a 10-year software license at no charge, and it will fund up to two years of monthly maintenance services. All other physicians in the State are eligible to receive the software at no cost, but will be responsible for a minimal monthly fee. All adopting physicians will provide their own hardware to host the web-based Allscripts solution.

"As Nevada's largest medical society, the Clark County Medical Society believes this was an excellent benefit for our members and allowed us the opportunity to collaborate with Allscripts," said Dr. Ronald Kline, President of the Clark County Medical Society. "Working together, we can ensure that physicians across the Society and the State of Nevada have the right solution in place to help improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare to the residents and visitors of Nevada."

"This initiative will help transform how patient care is provided in the State of Nevada. We commend both Sierra Health Services and the Clark County Medical Society on their vision and leadership," said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts. "Now, every patient in Nevada has the opportunity today, to experience the healthcare system of the future. We also believe that electronic prescribing is a great on-ramp to the electronic healthcare highway we provide through our full electronic health record."

Information on this e-prescribing initiative will be available in the next 30 days from Sierra Health Services, the Clark County Medical Society and Allscripts.

About Sierra Health Services

Sierra Health Services Inc., based in Las Vegas, is a diversified health care services company that operates health maintenance organizations, indemnity insurers, preferred provider organizations and multi-specialty medical groups. Sierra's subsidiaries serve more than 580,000 people through health benefit plans for employers, government programs and individuals. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.sierrahealth.com.

About Clark County Medical Society

Clark County Medical Society is the largest medical society in the State of Nevada. The Society has been serving physicians since 1955 to ensure the rights of physicians are adequately represented. The Society is made up of more than 900 physicians and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

About Allscripts

Allscripts is the leading provider of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions that physicians use to improve healthcare. The Company provides unique solutions that inform, connect, and transform healthcare. The Clinical Solutions Group's award-winning clinical software applications include Electronic Health Record, e-prescribing and document imaging solutions. Allscripts' Physicians Interactive Group provides clinical product education and connectivity solutions for physicians and patients. The Company's Medication Services Group provides medication fulfillment services. To learn more, visit Allscripts on the Web at www.allscripts.com.

This announcement may contain forward-looking statements about Allscripts Healthcare Solutions that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are developed by combining currently available information with Allscripts beliefs and assumptions. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future performance. Because Allscripts cannot predict all of the risks and uncertainties that may affect it, or control the ones it does predict, Allscripts' actual results may be materially different from the results expressed in its forward-looking statements. For a more complete discussion of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may affect Allscripts, see the Company's 2004 Annual Report on Form 10-K, available through the Web site maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

Source: Business Wire

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