Versus Technology Joins Healthcare Information Technology Companies in Microsoft ActiveX Pavilion at MS-HUG

Business Wire, Oct 13, 1998

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 13, 1998--Versus Technology, Inc. (OTC BB:VSTI) will join HBO & Company (Nasdaq:HBOC) and six other companies in the ActiveX(TM) for Healthcare Pavilion at the Microsoft Healthcare Users Group's (MS-HUG) conference (October 11-13, 1998 in Orlando, Fla.) to demonstrate "plug-and-play" interoperability among their healthcare information systems. Versus will integrate patient information obtained from its new supervised locating badge into these systems, demonstrating how these leading healthcare information companies can work together to improve the efficiency of a hospital.

"We are an important piece of the puzzle in enabling hospitals to manage their facilities more efficiently," said Henry Tenarvitz, executive vice president of operations for Versus Technology who also serves on two planning committees for MS-HUG. "Our location information, especially when integrated with other data, empowers hospitals to make decisions with healthcare information that currently is not available on a real-time basis."

The Traverse City, Mich.-based developer and manufacturer of infrared (IR) location, data collection and communications products will demonstrate its new supervised COM badge (see related release), which enables hospitals to identify the precise location of patients, staff or equipment throughout a medical facility at all times even if the IR signal's line of sight is blocked. During the joint demonstration, patient location information will be integrated with patient registration, scheduling, billing and other data to show how a medical facility can fully utilize all of its healthcare applications.

Versus Technology is dedicated to the free-flowing exchange of its location information with other healthcare data. The Company's participation in MS-HUG's ActiveX(TM) for Healthcare is essential to ensure a common platform exists for healthcare applications and systems. Hospitals are challenged with trying to coordinate communication between existing information systems to generate operating efficiency information that results in comprehensive patient care. ActiveX(TM) for Healthcare provides this technological framework, enabling a medical facility to "plug" any application in with the assurance it will "play" within the existing system.

The annual MS-HUG conference showcases the latest products in healthcare information technology, a market estimated to grow to $20 billion in 2000 according to Merrill Lynch. Microsoft Healthcare Users Group is a non-profit organization that sets the standard for interoperability among healthcare technology applications and systems. Based in Ann Arbor, Mich., MS-HUG supports Microsoft ActiveX(TM) technology for healthcare initiatives.

Versus Technology, Inc. (http://www.versustech.com) is a leading innovator in infrared locating technology, which offers real-time locating and two-way communication capabilities. The systems, which are currently installed in hospitals, corporate facilities, government facilities and other complexes, permit the automatic and accurate registry of essential management and business processes, and can be used to monitor the precise location of personnel or equipment for health and safety purposes, to control access to secured areas and to automatically record events associated with these activities.

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This document may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events, such as the development of new products, the commencement of production or the future financial performance of the Company. These statements fall within the meaning of forward looking information as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to a number of important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially including, but not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors affecting the Company's markets and market growth rates, products and their rate of commercialization, services, prices and adequacy of financing and other factors described in the Company's most recent annual report on Form 10-KSB filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be reviewed at http://www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update, amend or clarify forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.