Eastern Maine Healthcare Enters Partnership With MedicaLogic

Business Wire, Dec 13, 1996

PORTLAND, OR.--(HealthWire)--Dec. 13, 1996--

Will Market MedicaLogic's EMR Software to Physician

Practices in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont

MedicaLogic Inc. today enhanced its prospects for strong, continued growth in the Northeastern U.S. market by signing a strategic marketing agreement with Eastern Maine Healthcare (EMH).

Under the multiyear contract, Eastern Maine Healthcare will market MedicaLogic's electronic medical records (EMR) product, Logician(R), to physicians throughout eastern and northern Maine.

The effort will initially make Logician available to approximately 150 practices in the region. Future plans call for providing the software to practices throughout Maine and in selected parts of New Hampshire and Vermont.

Established in 1983, Eastern Maine Healthcare provides a variety of practice and business and clinical information management systems and services to a growing number of clinics and hospitals that care for approximately 350,000 patients annually. It committed to Logician under a strategy to help clinics provide better care for ambulatory patients, with the goal of also improving the management of cases involving laboratory and hospital services.

In evaluating various electronic medical records packages, during a six-month period beginning in July of 1995, EMH identified the primary attributes on which it would make its electronic medical records decision. Key among these was a product's required ability to work with any practice or office management system already installed in a clinic.

"Most physicians have substantial investments in their practice management system," said Eastern Maine's chief information officer, Dev Culver, who heads the EMR initiative. "They, obviously, would be very reluctant to replace one with another simply to accommodate a particular electronic medical record."

Logician precludes the need for a clinic to change its existing practice management system. Through its LinkLogic module, the software is automatically equipped to interface to practically any commercially available practice management or health information system. LinkLogic interfaces have been completed that will allow Logician to work with nearly 50 leading accounting and billing systems, reference laboratories, laboratory information systems and interface engines.

"Another factor in MedicaLogic's favor was its willingness to make LinkLogic available to us," Culver said. "As a result, we'll be able to accommodate our clinics' interface requirements locally, which will keep costs for the practice or clinic to the minimum."

Eastern Maine is a certified Logician provider. Beyond interface development, it intends to provide its clients with first-line EMR technical support and will train clinical staffs on all aspects of Logician usage. Having this capability, the company has established an aggressive roll-out schedule for Logician, beginning with an initial project currently underway at one of the eight clinics of Norumbega Medical Specialties in Bangor, Maine. The clinic plans to be fully operational under Logician in February of 1997; the others are slated for implementation over the next 12 months.

MedicaLogic has been providing medical record software and knowledge base modules to the healthcare market since 1985. Customers are served by MedicaLogic's national network of 15 distribution channel partners, and the company's own sales, implementation, training and technical personnel in 14 offices around the country.

CONTACT: For MedicaLogic

Bill Trainer, 503/222-3546

bill@blwadv.com

or

Eastern Maine Healthcare

Carol King, 207/942-3409

cking@emh.org