CHRISTUS Health Standardizes On PatientKeeper Across 40 Hospitals To Provide Best-In-Class Mobile Applications To Its 9,000 Physicians

DALLAS, and BOSTON, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- CHRISTUS Health and PatientKeeper(R), Inc., the leading provider of mobile computing for healthcare, announced today that CHRISTUS Health has standardized on the PatientKeeper Platform(TM) to provide mobile applications to its 9,000 physicians. PatientKeeper integrates with disparate information systems and addresses physicians' information needs to help save time, enhance patient care and improve patient safety. The 6-month vendor selection process relied on an extensive review of the marketplace.

Earlier this year, CHRISTUS Health launched an initiative called the Unity Project to standardize clinical, business, and financial processes around MEDITECH Information Systems. As part of the project, CHRISTUS has engaged PatientKeeper to extend their MEDITECH systems to mobile and wireless devices such as PDAs and Smartphones.

"As part of the Unity Project, we are aggressively moving toward organization-wide clinical and data standardization where possible and appropriate," said George Conkin, senior vice president and chief information officer of CHRISTUS Health. "We selected MEDITECH as our core clinical information system vendor. PatientKeeper's investment in a seamless integration with MEDITECH coupled with their broad array of product offerings, made them a logical choice to be our mobility and physician access partner."

PatientKeeper offers its clients the ability to directly integrate the award-winning PatientKeeper Platform(TM) with MEDITECH Magic and MEDITECH Client/Server to provide the following MEDITECH-specific features:

-- Drop-in installation that allows clients to deploy enterprise-wide in as little as three to four weeks -- Fully-integrated patient list management functionality that brings the MEDITECH patient lists and provider groups to the handheld, can auto- populate patient lists based on location and schedule, and allows physicians to manage the MEDITECH patient list directly on the handheld -- Extension of all MEDITECH configuration parameters and administrative data to eliminate the need for redundant administration -- eSignature capability that allows physicians to edit and approve documents and have them signed in MEDITECH -- Medication list functionality that includes a complete history of medication administration (MAR) as well as linked and split orders -- Support for MEDITECH VIP patient status so that sensitive patient identities remain hidden from unauthorized users -- Support for consult orders so that providers can request a consult directly from their PDA -- Single sign-on between PatientKeeper and MEDITECH, allowing physicians to use their MEDITECH credentials to access PatientKeeper. This allows organizations to control access to clinical information from one place, within their MEDITECH system.

"Physicians were quick to embrace PatientKeeper when we first deployed it at CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital in 2002," said Esmeralda Martinez, application analyst and mobile deployment project manager of CHRISTUS Health. "Since then, PatientKeeper has continually enhanced their technology and applications to meet our increasingly sophisticated requirements."

CHRISTUS Spohn Health System's Mobile Healthcare Team was recently recognized by the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems (AMDIS) for using PatientKeeper's mobile computing solutions to improve patient safety.

"PatientKeeper is thrilled that the entire CHRISTUS Health system has now selected our broad range of applications, validating PatientKeeper as the leader in physician-centric computing," said Paul W. Brient, chief executive officer of PatientKeeper. "Our open platform allows CHRISTUS to provide its physicians with the full breadth of clinical applications and the ability to grow to support future needs. PatientKeeper looks forward to our partnership and continued success with CHRISTUS Health."

About CHRISTUS Health

Headquartered in Dallas, CHRISTUS Health is a faith-based, not-for-profit health system comprised of more than 40 hospitals, inpatient and long-term care facilities as well as dozens of clinics, physician offices and health care services in more than 70 cities in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Utah and Mexico. To provide care and support for patients, the system employs more than 25,000 Associates, with 9,000 physicians on facility medical staffs. CHRISTUS Health is listed among the top ten Catholic health systems in the U.S. and among the nation's Top 100 Integrated Healthcare Networks.

About PatientKeeper

PatientKeeper offers a broad range of mobile applications that support the workflow of physicians and other healthcare professionals. The products include: PatientKeeper Clinical Results(TM), PatientKeeper Charge Capture(TM), PatientKeeper Mobile Dictation(TM), PatientKeeper ePrescription(TM) (Powered by DrFirst), and PatientKeeper Reference Library(TM). In addition, PatientKeeper supports Palm OS(R), PocketPC-based devices, and any tablet or PC running a web browser -- allowing physicians to utilize the computer platform most appropriate and convenient for their work.

PatientKeeper(R), Inc. provides healthcare professionals with mobile computing solutions that deliver clinical and financial benefits. The PatientKeeper Platform easily integrates with existing information systems. PatientKeeper and its partners have created a portfolio of applications that allow doctors to interactively manage patient information, view clinical results, enter charges, dictate notes, write prescriptions, reference the clinical knowledge base, and more. PatientKeeper is the first place winner of the 2005 TEPR Award for Mobile Applications for use in Healthcare. For more information, visit http://www.patientkeeper.com or call 617-987-0300.

Contact:

Stephen S. Hau, PatientKeeper, shau@patientkeeper.com, (617) 987-0304

Amanda Sina, Schwartz Communications, patientkeeper@schwartz-pr.com, (781) 684-6269

PatientKeeper(R), Inc.

CONTACT: Stephen S. Hau of PatientKeeper, +1-617-987-0304,shau@patientkeeper.com; or Amanda Sina of Schwartz Communications,+1-781-684-6269, patientkeeper@schwartz-pr.com

Web site: http://www.patientkeeper.com/