InteQ's InfraSolve Ensures Around-the-clock Access to Patient Records for South Shore Hospital

Business Wire, Nov 13, 2001

Business/Technology Editors and Health/Medical Writers

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2001

InteQ's 24x7 monitoring, management, reporting and problem resolution services ensure the infrastructure providing access to patient records

performs optimally

South Shore Mental Health, a 9,000-patient southeastern Massachusetts behavioral health care system, has turned to InteQ Corporation's infrastructure technology (IT) management, problem resolution, monitoring and reporting service to ensure around-the-clock access to patient data. South Shore Mental Health (SSMH) uses InteQ's managed service, InfraSolve(TM), to make sure the network that connects the organization's six outpatient clinics in southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod with the central patient database consistently delivers peak performance. InfraSolve remotely diagnoses and resolves problems in SSMH's infrastructure before they affect the applications that the healthcare staff relies on every day. This service costs a fraction of what SSMH would pay to build an internal system providing the same service levels.

South Shore Mental Health is a $30 million non-profit behavioral healthcare organization providing mental health and substance abuse services for people of all ages. Its 900 staff members provide services to approximately 9,000 patients annually for a variety of mental health, developmental, emergency psychiatric and substance abuse issues. South Shore Mental Health's staff requires 24x7 access to patient medical histories. Immediate database access is essential in allowing SSMH staff to treat patients quickly and effectively, which is why SSMH chose InteQ to ensure maximum availability of critical patient related applications.

"If someone enters our crisis service at 4 a.m. in need of emergency care, our staff must be able to see that patient's history immediately," said Tom Riemer, SSMH's IT director. "InteQ's services ensure our infrastructure runs smoothly, and proactively finds and resolves problems before they affect the time it takes for a staff member to call up a patient's records. That's how we make sure our patients get the best care."

Riemer and his staff also use InfraPortal, a secure Web portal, to view infrastructure performance and utilization reports. For example, SSMH is deploying a video conferencing system throughout its network of facilities for distance learning, case consultation and diagnoses. Riemer can use InfraPortal to determine if network bandwidth can accommodate a video conference at a certain time of day involving multiple parties.

SSMH chose InteQ after its previous Management Service Provider (MSP) failed to provide the information Riemer and his team needed to make sound decisions about infrastructure capacity, planning and performance. "InteQ is helping us take a much more proactive approach to maintaining service levels," he said. "We can catch things before they become a surprise."

SSMH is a clear example of an organization whose customers (the patients) literally depend on maximum uptime, according to Yash Shah, InteQ's co-founder, president and chief technology officer. "When a patient's well-being is at stake, there is no gray area," he said. "SSMH's staff can't wait for access to vital medical information. InteQ's services ensure that the infrastructure does what it's supposed to all the time, and resolves problems before they affect healthcare delivery."

About South Shore Mental Health

South Shore Mental Health is a private, non-profit provider of comprehensive behavioral health care services for people of all ages throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. With revenues of close to 30 million dollars, the organization serves over 9,000 individuals annually. Our continuum of services includes outpatient and intensive outpatient counseling, medication, psychiatric consultation, 24-hour crisis evaluation and stabilization, day treatment, psychiatric rehabilitation, and residential programs. The multi-disciplinary professional staff is proficient in treating the broad spectrum of mental illness, developmental disabilities, and addictions faced by individuals and families. Services are community-based and offered at a variety of locations including our offices, local schools, hospitals, individual homes, health care agencies and community centers. South Shore Mental Health was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.

About InteQ

InteQ is a leading provider of IT infrastructure management services. The company's unique service delivery architecture provides the visibility enterprises and service providers need to manage and improve IT performance and availability. Provisioned rapidly, InteQ managed services seamlessly and cost-effectively drive operational excellence while reducing IT support costs. To serve the unique needs of enterprises, InteQ also offers professional services and best practices in IT service management. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, InteQ is a founding member of the MSP Association. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.inteqnet.com or call 1-888-4IT-MGMT.