Greater Rochester Regional Health Information Organization selected Axolotl's e2 technology and professional services to help build its federated, patient-centric health information exchange. Using Axolotl's integrated Record Locator Service (RLS) and iMaster Patient Index (MPI), providers throughout the community will have the ability to access medication history, laboratory reports, and radiology reports/eImaging via a secure web portal. Physicians in gRrhio's service area will also use Axolotl's integrated e-prescribing solution and secure clinical messaging to receive patient data from multiple hospitals, reference laboratories, and imaging centers. gRrhio, a HEAL NY funding recipient, covers a region of 9 counties, serving 1.2 million people. First elements of the plan are expected to be running for a selected group of users in six months.

MEDSEEK will develop and host a consumer web portal for Peninsula Regional Medical Center, a 371-bed hospital in Salisbury, MD. The portal will: provide automatic updates of relevant information to key service line pages and other areas of the site; list a schedule of classes enabling consumers to sign up and pay for classes online; provide information and links to other healthcare sites for disease-specific information; offer the ability to pay bills online.

Sage Software Healthcare Division, formerly Emdeon Practice Services, announced that Internal Medicine Associates (IMA), a 62 provider practice based in Bloomington, IN, has selected Intergy EHR by Sage to manage IMA's increasing number of patient records. The goal is to improve workflow between Internal Medicine Associates' nine sites, and enhanced patient care and efficiencies. IMA now manages over 1,000 encounters per day, and issues over 26,000 bills per month. Intergy EHR is a CCHIT Certified product and will allow IMA to manage virtually all aspects of its clinical data, including tasks, lab results, images, transcription and more.

Siemens Medical Solutions completed the acquisition of Bayer Healthcare's diagnostic division, first announced in July 2006.  The new business unit, Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens Medical Solutions USA, and employs more than 8,000 people worldwide. The new business unit will be headquartered in Tarrytown, N.Y. and Los Angeles. Siemens says bringing together the entire medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics and clinical IT value chain under one roof will enable it to leverage technologies for improved quality of patient care at reduced costs.

Omtool signed a definitive agreement to acquire BlueChip Technologies late last year. Under the terms of the agreement, Omtool paid approximately $4.1 million in stock, cash and promissory notes. BlueChip specializes in document-centric technologies for the healthcare market. The company brings a customer base of over 100 healthcare providers and will augment Omtool's considerable experience in the healthcare vertical market. It is expected portions of the BlueChip Technologies product line will be leveraged in additional verticals beyond healthcare such as legal and financial services.

McKesson announced implementation of Horizon Real-Time Location System, the company's new radio frequency identification (RFID) solution, at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, Spartanburg, SC, which is using the solution to track and record the location history of 550 intravenous (IV) infusion pumps throughout its facility. "IV pumps are vital to patient safety, so it's essential to let caregivers know promptly when and where they're available," says Ray Shingler, Spartanburg's CIO. "Each infusion pump can cost as much as $10,000 and requires regular software upgrades. Being able to track these devices via a wireless-based RTLS helps us to address multiple safety, compliance and asset utilization issues." The solution taps into Spartanburg's existing 802.11 wireless network. Using a standard Web-based browser, staff can view a map of the facility to pinpoint the location of all tagged assets.

MEDITECH will show release 5.6 of its Client/Server at the HIMSS conference this year which the company says represents a major shift in the design approach and workflow navigation of MEDITECH systems. Specific new products being shown include Oncology Management and Scanning & Archiving. "We have designed desktop-based applications, and a new user interface, that unify care teams and streamline a more efficient care delivery system," says Hoda Sayed-Friel, VP marketing. "New evidence-based medicine and e-prescribing capabilities allow hospitals to tailor treatments, measure outcomes, and implement standards of care."