IMS signs deals with Transamerica, IMNET; deals increase capabilities of IMS' Medacom Networks - Integrated Medical Systems Inc, Transamerica Life Companies, IMNET Systems

Health Management Technology, April, 1995 by Damon Braly

Integrated Medical Systems, Inc. (IMS), Golden, Colo., entered into joint agreements with San Francisco-based Transamerica Life Companies and Atlanta-based IMNET Systems.

IMS' joint development and marketing agreement with Transamerica, signed in December, will give IMS' Medacom Network the capability to facilitate patient-visit processing, insurance-claim creation, communications with financial institutions such as banks and clearinghouses, as well as the electronic exchange of eligibility and payment information with payers.

About 50 physicians in the Los Angeles area are now using the Medacom Network with the enhanced capabilities provided by the agreement with Transamerica. About 15,000 physicians in the Los Angeles area are connected to the Medacom network. IMS expects to have full deployment of the Transamerica capabilities in the Los Angeles area within the next year to two years, according to Chana Watkins, IMS manager, corporate communications. The Transamerica service will eventually be offered to all users of the Medacom Network.

With the Transamerica agreement, physicians linked to the Medacom network will be able to download a patient's diagnostic images taken at a local hospital, enter diagnostic information into the patient's record and submit a claim to the patient's insurance company through a desktop computer running one application. The networks can be used with existing computers and a variety of telecommunication channels, such as standard telephone lines and ISDN.

In February, IMS signed an agreement with IMNET Systems that will allow IMNET's products to be integrated with IMS' medacom Networks.

Under the agreement, IMS and IMNET will work together to integrate IMNET's Electronic Information Warehouse, which includes the IMNET Image Engine, the IMNET Workflow Engine and the IMNET Medical Imaging Engine with the Medacom Network.

"Until now, in the clinical records area, it has only been possible to exchange and share information that is captured as computer data. This amounts to 10 percent of the total information base. Ninety percent of information is still processed and stored in the paper chart," said IMS President Jim Murphy. "The combination of the IMS Medacom Network with the IMNET Electronic Information Warehouse creates the first true opportunity for institutions to create an enterprisewide electronic medical record. This significantly enhances the IMS solution by providing a longitudinal view of the patient historical information along with the current encounter information currently supported by Medacom."

IMNET's technology provides electronic information capture, storage, retrieval and workflow for healthcare applications, according to the company. IMNET's software engines provide a backbone for integrating disparate systems, IMNET said.

In addition to the two agreements, Eli Lilly and Company increased its indirect equity interest in IMS in January from 26 percent to 29 percent by exercising the first of two warrants that Lilly indirectly holds. Lilly acquired its indirect minority interest in IMS as part of the November 1994 transaction in which Lilly purchased PCS Health Systems, Inc., from McKesson Corporation for $4 billion.

Contracts

* CliniComp, Intl., San Diego, Calif., won a $1.3 million contract from Madigan Army Medical Center to expand the hospital's existing clinical information system. According to CliniComp, the expansion will make Madigan the first military hospital in the country to have hospitalwide computerized patient records. Included are all medical and surgical units, as well as operating rooms and the psychiatric unit.

* The Colorado Hospital Association and Virginia Health Information have both agreed to license All Patient Refined DRG Software from 3M Health Information Systems, St. Paul, Minn. The software classifies patients in severity of illness groupings based on hospital discharge data to more accurately measure and compare cost and care outcomes at acute-care hospitals.

* Compaq Computer Corporation, Houston, Texas, and Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash., launched a worldwide joint marketing plan to promote the sale of Compaq personal computers with Microsoft Windows 95 operating system preinstalled. Under the agreement, both companies will design specific features into their respective products to provide added benefits to customers.

* Sterling Software, Inc., Network Services Division, Dublin, Ohio, and Rogers Health Care Consulting, Ltd., jointly developed a Reimbursement Management Services program for the pharmaceutical industry. The program will serve as an electronic clearinghouse for reimbursement claims from, managed-care pharmacy programs to drug manufacturers.