Press Releases

“DirectConnect” Rolls Out at Catholic Healthcare West; Solution Co-Developed with IBM and Carefx Enables Clinicians Secure and Expedient Access to Patient Information

Clinicians’ access to aggregated patient data via a unified view is critical to quality outcomes

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - May 22, 2007 - Carefx Corporation and IBM Healthcare and Life Sciences announced today that Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), the eighth largest hospital system in the nation and the largest not-for-profit hospital provider in California, has implemented a new web-based technology solution that gives clinicians secure anytime, anywhere access to a unified view of integrated patient information.

The rollout is part of a larger development initiative, branded by CHW as “DirectConnect,” between Carefx and IBM in partnership with CHW focusing on equipping providers with a world-class clinical portal utilizing industry standards and a service-oriented architecture (SOA) at its core. Chandler Regional Hospital and Mercy Gilbert Medical Center in Arizona are the first hospitals to deploy DirectConnect.

“Catholic Healthcare West is always looking for ways to provide better care to our patients,” said Eric Leader, chief technology architect, Catholic Healthcare West. “DirectConnect has improved access to patient information and freed up valuable time for more patient interaction at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center and Chandler Regional Hospital.”

DirectConnect simplifies the lives of those responsible for delivering patient care. It provides physicians and other clinicians secure, intuitive and expedient access to a complete view of patient information aggregated from disparate applications through a single sign-on while simultaneously managing clinical content at the desktop or through a portal.

“I’m saving two to three hours daily using DirectConnect, which increases my time with patients and improves their level of satisfaction,” said Nick Caputo, M.D., D.O., hospitalist at Chandler Regional Hospital. “The portal automatically brings up my patient list and from there I can easily select a patient and glean all the pertinent information in a succinct presentation accessed with fewer clicks.”

Mahmood Shahlapour, M.D., hospitalist at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, explained, “Our reliance on the paper chart for the latest patient information is nearly eliminated because every single piece of critical patient data is now quickly accessible through DirectConnect. For example, our new medication flow charts display in real time the patient’s most recent administered medications including times, dates, dosage amounts, and the generic or brand name of the drug. This is important in helping eliminate errors and promoting safety.”

“DirectConnect’s ability to aggregate patient data in one comprehensive and complete view improves the delivery of patient care and the work lives of our physicians,” said Terry Ambus, M.D., chief of staff, Mercy Gilbert Medical Center and Chandler Regional Hospital. “With instant access to essential information such as vital signs, laboratory results, radiology exams and medication lists, our healthcare professionals can make more informed decisions and concentrate time on direct patient interaction.”

The new web-based solution is powered by an enterprise-wide integration platform that incorporates patient information aggregation with Fusion from Carefx™ operating both on the desktop and within the IBM WebSphere Clinical Portal. This integration platform—which utilizes industry open-standards and SOA/SOAP Data Access Layer in Fusion—seamlessly aggregates embedded data from MEDITECH and other information solutions including those by Emageon and Logicare into a browser-based clinical dashboard. This infrastructure complements the current Novell identity management solution used at CHW.

For more information about IBM Healthcare and Life Sciences, please visit: http://www.ibm.com/industries/healthcare.

About Carefx Corporation

Carefx is the only provider of an open and scalable Patient Information Aggregation platform that provides clinicians real-time access to information residing in disparate applications. Fusion from Carefx^® aids clinicians with sleek, intuitive and flexible access to patient information and satisfies IT imperatives by fully leveraging legacy investments within an open architecture. For more information, visit www.carefx.com.

About Catholic Healthcare West

Catholic Healthcare West (CHW), headquartered in San Francisco, CA, is a system of 42 hospitals and medical centers in California, Arizona and Nevada. Founded in 1986, it is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health care systems and the largest Catholic health care system based in the Western United States. CHW is committed to delivering compassionate, high-quality, affordable health care services with special attention to the poor and underserved. The CHW network of more than 8,500 physicians and approximately 450,000 employees provides health care services to more than four million people annually. In 2006, CHW provided $800 million in charity care and unsponsored community benefit. For more information, please visit our website at www.chwHEALTH.org.