Oracle Introduces Comprehensive Information Platform and Service Infrastructure for the Healthcare Industry

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ( http://www.oracle.com/tellmemore/?1604937 ) Oracle Corporation , the world's largest enterprise software company, today announced the availability of the Oracle(R) Healthcare Transaction Base (HTB), a comprehensive data repository and service infrastructure that will enable healthcare organizations to integrate disparate systems and create a central repository for patient information and clinical services. Oracle will demonstrate the Healthcare Transaction Base at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference, February 10-13, in San Diego, Calif.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020718/ORCLLOGO )

The new Oracle healthcare platform -- which combines a standards-based information model, data repository and business process functionality -- is designed to help streamline the development, integration and operation of healthcare applications for improved information quality, collaborative decision-making capabilities and a more efficient base for operations.

"Healthcare information technology (IT) teams are continually challenged to expand analytic and reporting capabilities to support their organizations' business and clinical objectives," according to Paul Peabody, vice president and chief information officer, Beaumont Hospitals. The Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base addresses this growing issue. It allows users to access and leverage comprehensive clinical, administrative and financial information within the central repository to track and improve outcomes and efficiencies across the healthcare continuum.

Value Across the Enterprise The Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base enables organizations to: -- Provide a comprehensive community view of a patient's record across organizational boundaries, which fosters more efficient care, reduces errors and supports the outcomes research required for quality improvement; -- Derive optimal value from their existing systems, minimizing the need for expansive new information technology investment; -- Manage business transactions consistently in the patient care process, increasing the efficiency, quality and competitive edge of the healthcare organization; -- Maximize clinical data reuse and portability through the use of standards, allowing for seamless integration between healthcare information systems; and -- Access and analyze vital clinical, administrative and financial information to understand and improve outcomes and efficiencies.

"Oracle has made a commitment to developing technology that improves not only the operating efficiency of healthcare organizations, but the quality of patient care as well. The introduction of the Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base marks a major milestone in our efforts to fulfill that commitment," said John Wookey, senior vice president, Application Development, Oracle Corporation. "Working with a diverse team of vendor and customer partners, we have developed a solution that enables organizations to optimize their existing technology investment to address the two most pressing issues in healthcare today -- improving care and managing costs."

Collaborative Effort: Technology Partners, Customers Play Key Role

Vendor, customer, and partner involvement have been integral to the development of the Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base. In 2001, Oracle launched the Oracle Healthcare Partner Initiative, a program that provides benefits for leading independent software vendors (ISVs) and systems integrators that are interested in developing applications on the Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base. Oracle has partnered with technology partners worldwide to develop healthcare administrative and clinical applications.

A recent addition to the Oracle Healthcare Partner Initiative includes Per-Se Technologies, a global leader in delivering integrated financial and clinical software solutions. Oracle continues to work to expand its base of development partners building on the Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base.

In addition to its technology partner initiative, Oracle created a Customer Advisory Board to provide "hands-on" guidance in the development and implementation of the Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base. Its membership encompasses leading healthcare delivery organizations in North America and Europe, including Atlantic Health Sciences Corp., the largest multi-facility hospital corporation in New Brunswick, Canada; Beaumont Hospitals, of Royal Oak, Mich., a healthcare system that encompasses a large teaching hospital, an acute care hospital, primary and specialty care clinics, and several nursing home centers; Capital Health Authority, one of Alberta Canada's largest integrated academic health regions; Cardiff and Vale National Health Service Trust in Cardiff, Wales, one of the largest healthcare providers in the United Kingdom; The Methodist Hospital in Houston, a preeminent non-profit health care provider and the primary teaching hospital for Baylor College of Medicine; and UCSF Medical Center, the primary teaching enterprise for the University of California, San Francisco.

"The growing complexity of healthcare systems worldwide drives the need for a central information repository that spans the entire healthcare organization," said Allaudin Merali, Chief Financial Officer, Capital Health. "Oracle and the Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base answer this call with a standards-based model that enables the creation of a comprehensive electronic patient record and allows healthcare organizations to support clinical, administrative and financial processes directly from the platform for improved efficiency and care."

About Oracle

Oracle is the world's largest enterprise software company. For more information about Oracle visit our website at http://www.oracle.com/.

Trademarks

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020718/ORCLLOGO

AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/

PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 212-782-2840 Oracle Corporation

CONTACT: Deborah Lilienthal, +1-650-506-5158, or
deborah.lilienthal@oracle.com, or Ryan Mikolasik, +1-650-607-5087, or
ryan.mikolasik@oracle.com, both of Oracle Corp.

Web site: http://www.oracle.com/tellmemore/?1604937