EXTON, Pa., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Daou Systems, Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: DAOU) , a provider of IT consulting and management services to healthcare organizations, today announced an agreement with the U.S. Indian Health Service (IHS) to build an integrated electronic case management system that will automate clinical data for the 1.6 million American Indian and Alaskan Native patients served by IHS.
In the 12-month engagement, Daou will provide systems integration services, including design, development and deployment of the case management application called iCare. The goal of iCare is to provide caregivers with an integrated medical history of each patient served by IHS, as well as to provide case managers and other healthcare specialists with various aggregate views of data by disease, by provider and by population served.
Within the iCare case management system, Daou will also design and develop specific modules for the management of cardiovascular disease and HIV in the American Indian and Alaska Native population.
“The project is a perfect example of the direct impact information technology can have on quality of care,” said John Peterson, vice president and general manager of Daou’s Government and Integration Services practice. “Daou has a long history of providing IT services to IHS, and this project in particular is one we are honored to be part of. IHS is a dynamic organization that is demonstrating considerable vision by choosing to automate case management and establish system-wide electronic health record (EHR) technology, and we are committed to helping them achieve that goal.”
According to Peterson, Daou’s expertise in government healthcare, and in building systems that integrate data from many disparate sources into a single, user-friendly platform, will enable iCare to be up and running in late September 2005, a relatively short timeframe for such a comprehensive project. “We’ll be providing systems analysis, design, computer programming services and technical documentation,” said Peterson. “The end result will be an efficient case management system that will reduce the costs of day-to-day healthcare for this population.”
IHS has worked with Daou because of the firm’s nearly two decades of experience working with major government healthcare entities and their legacy health information systems (HIS). IHS’ long established Resource and Patient Management System (RPMS), with which iCare will be integrated, is an M-based system, as are the systems of the Veterans Health Administration and the Department of Defense’s Military Health System. Daou has worked extensively with both organizations to help solve their IT challenges.
It will be designed for use by generalists and healthcare specialists alike, as well as by disease-specific case managers at any IHS direct, tribal or urban facility using RPMS. According to IHS officials, iCare will support the agency’s work to improve compliance with clinical practical guidelines for five chronic diseases that are significant to the American Indian and Alaska Native population: diabetes, HIV/AIDS, asthma, obesity and cardiovascular disease.
iCare will also enable a more holistic approach to healthcare within IHS. Historically, patients have been managed in a single focused fashion, a silo approach where each disease or healthcare problem a patient might present is treated separately and each case is recorded on paper documents. “Now, with electronic health record (EHR) technology as part of the iCare system, caregivers will have a complete view of a patient’s health history at their fingertips,” Peterson said. “In addition, iCare will integrate data from RPMS and provide different views of that data, providing a clear, up-to-date picture of the health needs of any given segment of the population.”
About Daou
Daou Systems, Inc. provides expert consulting and management services to healthcare organizations in the design, deployment and support of IT infrastructure and application systems. Daou offers a range of comprehensive services, from mobile health and web services solutions to application implementation and support; from government and commercial integration services to business process realignment. Daou has provided services to more than 1,600 healthcare organizations, including leading private and public hospitals, managed care organizations on both the payer and provider sides of the market, as well as integrated healthcare delivery networks and some of the nation’s largest government healthcare entities. http://www.daou.com/
About Indian Health Service
An agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, IHS provides a comprehensive health services delivery system for approximately 1.6 million of the nation’s estimated 2.6 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. The mission of the IHS, in partnership with American Indian and Alaska Native people, is to raise their physical, mental, social, and spiritual health to the highest level. The goal of the IHS is to ensure that culturally acceptable personal and public health services are available and accessible to all American Indian and Alaska Native people. The foundation of the IHS is to uphold the Federal Government obligation to promote healthy American Indian and Alaska Native people, communities, and cultures and to honor and protect the inherent sovereign rights of tribes. For more information, visit http://www.ihs.gov/.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements are only predictions and actual events or results may differ materially. Forward-looking statements usually contain the word “estimate,” “anticipate,” “hope,” “believe,” “think,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan” or similar expressions. The forward-looking statements included herein are based on current expectations and certain assumptions and entail various risks and uncertainties, including risks and uncertainties relating to: the Company’s ability to achieve a successful sales program and to obtain new customer contracts; the relatively longer sales cycle in obtaining new customers and larger contracts; industry spending patterns and market conditions, including seasonal trends; the reduction in size, delay in commencement or loss or termination of one or more significant projects; the management of the Company’s consolidated operations; management of future growth; the Company’s ability to continually offer services and products that meet its customers’ demands, as new technologies or industry standards could render its services obsolete or unmarketable; the ability of the company to successfully execute strategies for realizing shareholder value; and the effects of healthcare industry consolidation and changes in the healthcare regulatory environment on existing customer contracts. These uncertainties and risk factors, as well as the matters set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K under the caption “Risk Factors” and its other SEC filings, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect management’s opinion only as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or publicly announce revisions to any such statements to reflect future events or developments.
Daou Systems, Inc.
CONTACT: Candace Flynn, Char Baxter Communications, +1-770-934-0563 ext.263, cflynn@charbaxter.com, for Daou Systems; or Sandra Taylor, Ph.D., VicePresident of Marketing, Daou, +1-610-594-2700, sandra.taylor@daou.com
Web site: http://www.ihs.gov/
Web site: http://www.daou.com/