Central Station Consortium Delivers Key Initiative in Health Reform for Capital Health

Business Wire, July 6, 2004

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Central Station, a consortium of leading information technology products, process knowledge and health care expertise, has delivered Canada's first region-wide electronic health record (EHR) system to Edmonton's Capital Health.

The regional health authority is one of the largest integrated health regions in Canada, serving more than 1.6 million residents across the central and northern regions of Alberta. The patient-centric web-based clinical portal, netCARE, links existing patient information systems across nine hospitals, 22 public health centers, community physician offices and community care services. The $10 million EHR solution, delivered on time and on budget, provides physicians and health care providers with immediate access to vital, up-to-date patient information at the point of care through a secure and private central repository system.

In February this year, the clinical portal was piloted by over 500 authorized users in 10 sites and facilities. The system is rolling out in stages across the region between April and December.

Through the combined expertise and discipline of all the consortium members -- Capital Health, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle Corporation, Orion Systems International, Quovadx, Inc. and Sierra Systems -- the netCARE solution has improved the quality, safety and delivery of patient care as well as system processes and efficiencies.

Capital Health played a vital role in the success of the EHR implementation by laying the groundwork for the project. In addition to building the patient registry, Capital Health registration staff continues to validate patient information in the EMPI to ensure the accuracy of both current and historical data.

Development of an electronic health record system is a key recommendation in health reform and recognized as an essential element for building and sustaining a responsive health system.

"The use of information technology in the health industry will significantly improve the way we care for patients," said Donna Strating, Capital Health Chief Information Officer. "Better information between health care providers means better-informed decisions at the point of care, and better patient outcomes."

Through the course of the year-long project, the Central Station Consortium partners provided a coherent, integrated implementation of the Clinical Portal and EMPI.

--Quovadx provided the services and software for the implementation of the Initiate Systems, Inc. EMPI solution, which acts as the enterprise patient index for the nine hospital patient record systems and clinical data repositories (CDRs) at Capital Health.

--Sierra Systems, the Consortium lead, provided overall project management and integration services for the Central Station solution and acted as the escalation contact for any issues that could impact the EHR project. The multi-firm, multi-contract environment included six different consortium and Capital Health teams totaling more than 50 people across three countries and two continents.

--Orion Systems International provided the products and services for the implementation of Orion's Concerto(TM) Medical Applications Portal. Concerto(TM) provides Capital Health clinicians with a unified, web-based view of patients' laboratory results, patient event history, transcribed reports and pharmaceutical information, integrating with the EMPI and other selected source systems in the Capital Health region.

--The EHR repositories are Oracle Databases. Opportunities are being reviewed for the potential use of Healthcare Transaction Base (HTB), Oracle's new platform which combines a standards-based information model, data repository, and business process functions.

--The infrastructure for the EHR has been built on Hewlett Packard's high-availability, high-performance HP 9000 server technology running the mission-critical version of HP-UX 11i.

About Quovadx, Inc.

Quovadx (Nasdaq:QVDXE), a global software and services firm based in Englewood, Colorado, has helped more than 20,000 enterprise customers worldwide develop, extend and integrate applications based on open standards. Quovadx Inc. is comprised of two primary divisions, the Rogue Wave Software division, which provides reusable software components and services that facilitate application development, and the Enterprise Application division, which offers vertically specific solutions to improve business processes and create value from existing systems. Quovadx serves companies in healthcare, financial services, telecommunications, the public sector, manufacturing, and life sciences. Quovadx operates internationally with more than 500 employees. For more information, please visit http://www.quovadx.com.

About Sierra Systems

Sierra Systems Group Inc. (TSX:SSG) integrates business and technology to help clients achieve practical, measurable long-term results from their information technology investments. Guided by its commitment to fulfilling client needs for over 37 years, Sierra Systems has emerged as a trusted advisor to North America's leadership in both private and public sector organizations. In, Health, Justice, eGovernment, Enterprise Solutions, Financial Services and Insurance, Telecommunications and Utilities, Sierra Systems' 16 locations deliver the focused knowledge and broad experience clients need to excel in evolving times. Visit www.SierraSystems.com.