ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Medstat, a business of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC), honored Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania (BCNEPA) with its inaugural Innovator Award at a ceremony held at the annual company customer conference, Connection 2004, May 2-5, 2004 in Phoenix, Arizona. Two clear themes emerged from the conference -- focus and collaboration -- and each of the Innovator Award nominations reflected these ingredients for successful improvement in healthcare. The Innovator Award recognizes organizations who demonstrate significant management effectiveness in healthcare, through the application of information-driven initiatives. Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania's recent program to improve quality by establishing measurement criteria and standardized reports to improve physician performance was the winning nomination.
Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania was selected from among seven finalists including Clarian Health, an Indianapolis-based three hospital network; Colorado Access, a Medicaid health plan; Electronic Data Systems Corporation; Flowers Hospital, a Triad health system facility in Alabama; Georgia Department of Community Health; and Valley View Hospital, also a member of the Triad health network and located in Colorado.
Clarian Health showcased its automated revenue cycle management program; Colorado Access consolidated its health plan data to create integrated patient profiles; and Electronic Data Systems created an employee-focused nurse advocate program. Flowers Hospital tagged hospital medical records with best practices guidelines to improve treatment; Georgia Department of Community Health strengthened its cost management and vendor negotiation process by centralizing healthcare program budgeting; and Valley View hospital used information to improve health outcomes through the development and use of clinical pathways.
Medstat (http://www.medstat.com/ ) is a healthcare information company that provides market intelligence and benchmark databases, decision support solutions, and research services for managing the cost and quality of healthcare. The company applies these capabilities to improve policy and management decision making for employers, government agencies, health plans, hospitals and provider networks, and pharmaceutical companies. Medstat is a business within The Thomson Corporation. The Thomson Corporation (http://www.thomson.com/ ), with 2003 revenues of $7.6 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. Thomson provides value-added information, software applications and tools to more than 20 million users in the fields of scientific research and healthcare, law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate training and assessment. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (TSX: TOC; NYSE: TOC).
MedstatCONTACT: Kelly Tolson of Medstat, +1-734-913-3707,kelly.tolson@thomson.com
Web site: http://www.medstat.com/
