Microsoft Healthcare Users Group and Microsoft Announce Winners of 2003 MS-HUG Annual Awards

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp. and Microsoft Healthcare Users Group (MS-HUG) today announced the winners of the 2003 Industry Solution Awards for Healthcare (ISAH) and winners of the Microsoft User of the Year Awards. The annual awards program recognizes the most innovative healthcare organizations that are improving their operations through the effective deployment and utilization of Microsoft(R)-based products.

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ISAH was designed to honor specifically those independent healthcare software vendors (ISVs) shipping a solution on Microsoft Windows(R) 2000 Server and Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 2000 to provide tangible business benefits to healthcare organizations. The Microsoft User of the Year Awards were established to salute five key constituencies -- physicians, hospitals, clinics, health plans and pharmaceutical companies -- for the most innovative use of Microsoft-based products and tools.

"Once again, the MS-HUG annual awards program has given us the opportunity to recognize healthcare industry leaders and organizations that offer an outstanding Microsoft-based healthcare solution that assists in reducing costs and automating workflow," said David Lubinski, general manager of the Healthcare Industry Solutions Group at Microsoft. "This year, we are delighted to offer new user-focused awards to healthcare organizations that are substantially advancing the healthcare practice through the best use of Microsoft-based products."

"We are extremely pleased with the overwhelming participation from leading ISVs, healthcare and pharmaceutical organizations in this year's annual MS-HUG awards program," said Andy Fowler, chairman of the MS-HUG board of directors. "These innovative software solutions based on the Microsoft platform demonstrate the tangible benefits technology can offer healthcare organizations."

The MS-HUG awards program allows developers to submit their healthcare solution for consideration by an expert panel of judges. Contestants' solutions are scored according to the following criteria: business benefit to the customer, business agility, ease of adoption, solutions architecture used in developing the solution, and technical challenges.

Finalists in the ISAH categories are demonstrating their solutions in the Microsoft booth (No. 3610) at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference in San Diego. Winners were chosen by an independent panel of judges and were announced at the Microsoft booth on Tuesday, Feb. 11. The 2003 winners for the Industry Solution Awards for Healthcare are as follows:

Acute Care: Administrative/Financial Systems scheduling.com: scheduling.com scheduling.com is an application service provider (ASP) that provides an access management solution to integrated delivery networks including acute care hospitals, ambulatory clinics, physicians' offices, providers and consumers. Acute Care: Clinical/Patient Information Systems Global Care Solutions: Global Care Solutions Amalga PACS Amalga PACS provides a full clinical image management system, distributing images of all formats to any Microsoft Internet Explorer- equipped workstation via either the Internet or a facility's existing network infrastructure. Ambulatory Care: Administrative/Financial Systems NextGen Healthcare Information Systems Inc.: NextGen EPM NextGen EPM (enterprise practice management system) uses an integrated delivery system (IDS) approach to provide a common registration system, enterprisewide appointment scheduling, referral tracking, clinical support, a custom report writer and patient financial management based on a managed care model. Ambulatory Care: Clinical/Patient Information Systems NextGen Healthcare Information Systems: NextGen EMR The NextGen EMR (electronic medical records) module is designed to improve quality, reduce risk, cut costs and increase revenues. It creates and maintains complete medical records with minimal effort while it streamlines workflow, controls utilization and manages critical data related to patient care outcomes. Emerging Technologies DapaSoft Inc.: Critical Care Transfer Unit System DapaSoft provides custom software solutions for business clients, specializing in client-server and Web-based applications. Managed Care QCSI: QMACS QMACS is a state-of-the-art, object-oriented, rules-based software application that can manage every line of business known in healthcare. QMACS utilizes a relational database, which provides efficient use of data and consistent information. Other MediServe Information Systems Inc.: MediServe MediLinks MediLinks encompasses all aspects of patient information management. The system's components can be used together or independently to meet the goals of each facility.

The expert panel of healthcare industry judges selected winners for Microsoft User of the Year Awards based on the entrants' innovative deployment and utilization of Microsoft-based technologies in the healthcare community. The 2003 winners for the Microsoft User of the Year Awards are as follows:

Microsoft Physician of the Year: Dr. Don Caruso, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Keene, N.H.

Dr. Don Caruso runs a full-time practice and is involved in championing and implementing the EMR at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene. In addition, he is a member of the core team and several other committees that oversee healthcare information technology decisions for the clinic. He considers the move to an efficient paperless healthcare organization to be true innovation in the practice of medicine. Using a rapid implementation, DHMC-Keene is live on Allscripts' TouchWorks with 80 physicians and 300 users. In seven months, TouchWorks has eliminated the majority of steps in managing a patient visit. Data available through the EMR includes medication lists, allergies, immunization records, growth charts and results trending. The clinic is well on its way to implementing a complete mobile and modular electronic medical record solution.

Microsoft Clinic of the Year: Southeast Texas Medical Associates LLP (SETMA), Beaumont, Texas

By using technology to eliminate paper-based patient charts and reduce manual processes, SETMA increased the quality of patient care while reducing costs and increasing revenue by almost $3 million per year. Based on the Microsoft platform and NextGen software, SETMA's end-to- end electronic patient management solution documents almost every aspect of patient care, both inside and outside the exam room. In addition to saving the clinic millions of dollars through lower supply costs, more accurate billing and lower administrative overhead, SETMA's use of technology improves clinical productivity and the quality of care by providing physicians and nurse practitioners with complete, accurate and up-to-date patient information at all times.

Microsoft Health Plan of the Year: Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans (MPIPHP), Studio City, Calif.

Overburdened with administrative costs and a backlog of claims, MPIPHP wanted to transition to electronics claims processing and achieve HIPAA compliance. The company turned to Microsoft and QCSI's QMACS claims administration system to receive and adjudicate claims. The subsequent reduction of turnaround time, manpower and cost of claims resulted in a $1 million savings in the first year and increased productivity by 100 percent. On-time payments increased provider and member satisfaction.

Microsoft Hospital of the Year: Sutter General Hospital, Sacramento, Calif.

To provide high-quality health care, Sutter General Hospital relies heavily on electronic medical records. Interested in increasing efficiency, Sutter General Hospital turned to Eclipsys Corp., a Microsoft Partner, and to SQL Server 2000 for a solution that would enable the fluid transfer and storage of patient data. At 25 percent of the cost of most hardware platforms, the Eclipsys and Microsoft solution saves $150,000 per year in database and hardware support costs and, more important, saves lives.

Microsoft Pharma of the Year: Wallace Pharmaceuticals, a division of MedPointe Inc. , Somerset, N.J.

Wallace Pharmaceuticals, a division of MedPointe Inc., needed a unique software solution that could be used where pharmaceutical sales force automation systems are infrequently used: face-to-face with the physician. Leveraging the benefits of the Tablet PC and the Microsoft .NET Framework, Proscape Technologies built the Proscape pharmaceutical solution that allows a professional representative to more clearly communicate one-on-one with physicians, resulting in more time with the physician discussing its second-generation antihistamine product, ASTELIN nasal spray. The system's bidirectional communication platform allows Wallace to survey the physicians and understand their changing information requirements and update presentation material in real time as well as evaluate physicians' response to messaging. About MS-HUG

With headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich., the independent, nonprofit Microsoft Healthcare Users Group is the leading healthcare industry forum for exchanging ideas, promoting learning and sharing solutions for information systems using Microsoft technologies. MS-HUG works to provide industry leadership, drive appropriate standards and develop associated requirements in support of healthcare solutions. The diverse membership of MS-HUG is united by a shared interest in implementing vendor- and user-developed software based on Microsoft technology to improve quality and efficiency in healthcare. More information can be found on MS-HUG's Web site at http://www.mshug.org/ /.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.

NOTE: Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

For more information on Microsoft Healthcare: http://www.microsoft.com/healthcare /

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