Sun Microsystems Explains Network Computing Vision For Healthcare Industry At HIMSS Conference

DALLAS, HIMSS Conference, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sun Microsystems today writes the prescription to improve the well being of the healthcare system. At the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference, one of the largest healthcare conferences in the world, Sun explains its vision for the industry. Scott McNealy, Sun’s CEO and Chairman, says technology is enabling healthcare providers to give secure care in real-time via interoperable electronic patient records over the Internet, as called for by the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology (ONCHIT), with patient privacy protected and access facilitated via federated network identity.

Displaying its strongest commitment to date to the healthcare industry with new solutions, customers, partners and its largest presence yet at HIMSS, Sun is also the proud sponsor of HIMSS’ fastest growing healthcare IT community, SunSHINE (Sun Solutions for Healthcare: Information, Networking, Education). SunSHINE is a forum created to promote choice and innovation in Information Technology for healthcare. Leading up to HIMSS, Sun announced major healthcare deployments in premier healthcare facilities including: the Orthopedic Hospital of Oklahoma, the Veteran Affairs Hospitals, the Children’s Hospital in Denver, Queen’s Medical Center (QMC) in Hawaii, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) and Oregon Health Science University (OHSU). Sun’s rich community of iForce(SM) healthcare partners include Creative Healthcare Systems, AccessPt., CSW Group Ltd., Donnell Systems, Inc., Kodak, Philips Medical, DinMar/OACIS, MAK-System, AnyWARE Group, Inc., OCIE, GBA Health Networks, and more. The companies have all chosen to be Sun iForce partners to better meet the rigorous demands of their customers.

“The healthcare industry is in search of new and better ways to use IT to improve quality and to reduce costs. More and more healthcare customers are turning to Sun and our broad partner community for innovative solutions,” said Michael Haymaker, global healthcare industry manager at Sun. “Hundreds of hospitals and medical centers are now using technologies from Sun, including Sun Ray ultra-thin clients, RFID and the Solaris(TM) Operating System. Additionally, SunSHINE is healthier than ever with more than 1,000 active members working with Sun to share innovations and best-practices to improve the industry.”

Leading Healthcare Organizations Understand That IT Matters

In recent weeks, Sun has made several strategic announcements with key partners and customers who understand that IT matters more than ever in the healthcare industry. Sun’s announcements included: Related healthcare-focused press releases and background materials from Sun can be found at http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/media/presskits/himss2005/ .

Top Hospitals Choose Sun Microsystems IT Platform For Enterprise-wide Healthcare Information Systems

-- Leading Clinical Applications Rely on Solaris, Sun’s Highly Secure and Scalable Operating System

Sun Microsystems Helps Hospitals Safeguard Patients’ Five Crucial Rights

-- Patient Bracelets Embedded With RFID Technology Securely Track Patient Movement From Admission to Discharge

Sun Microsystems Helps VA Hospitals Improve Patient Care Via Stateless Ultra-Thin Sun Ray Solution

-- Doctors Are Accessing Patient Records with Unprecedented Mobility and Security

Sun Microsystems’ and HIMSS Healthcare User Group Summit to Meet in Dallas to Tackle Toughest Healthcare IT Challenges

-- SunSHINE’s Surging Membership Surpasses Milestone 1,000 IT Professionals

Sun Microsystems, Inc. Announces Its Latest Innovation in Identity Management -- Sun Java System Identity Auditor

-- New Software Helps Enable Repeatable, Sustainable and Cost-Effective Compliance For Companies Worldwide

http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2005-01/sunflash.20050124.2.html .

This week at the HIMSS conference, Sun is in booth #1013 of hall A. For more information on Sun in healthcare, please visit: http://www.sun.com/healthcare .

About Sun in Healthcare

Sun Microsystems and its partners are committed to delivering innovative technology solutions to meet the latest IT needs of healthcare providers. Sun’s infrastructure and edge offerings are helping healthcare facilities improve the efficiency of the services they deliver and ensure best-in-class patient care. From radio frequency identification (RFID) to electronic medical records (EMR), Sun is leading the way in offering healthcare practitioners next-generation technology.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- “The Network Is The Computer(TM)” -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the Net work. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com/ .

NOTE: Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Solaris, Java, Sun Ray, iForce, and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc., in the US and other countries.

Sun Microsystems, Inc.

CONTACT: Kim Evans of Sun Microsystems, Inc., +1-415762-2270, orkim.evans@sun.com

Web site: http://sun.com/