Executive From Patient Care Technology Systems to Serve As MBA Course Lecturer at the University of California, Irvine

Business Wire, Feb 16, 2005

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. -- Alan Portela Will Serve as a Guest Lecturer for an MBA Course Covering Information Technology in Healthcare Organizations

Alan Portela, vice president of Strategic Initiatives at Patient Care Technology Systems (PCTS), has accepted an invitation from the UC Irvine Graduate School of Management to teach an MBA course on the role of information technology in health care. Patient Care Technology Systems is exhibiting at the HIMSS Conference from Feb. 14-17 at the Dallas Convention Center in booth #347.

Beginning in April, Portela and Keith Strier, an executive at Deloitte in Orange County, will be team-teaching a 10-week course called, "Strategic Application of Information Technology (IT) in Health." The course will provide an overview of the role that information technology plays in strategies aimed at controlling health care costs & quality, and the challenges associated with achieving these goals. Students will discuss the key technologies used in health care and explore the trends and emerging technologies that are shaping the future of the health care industry.

Portela is a member of the management team at PCTS, an Orange County medical software company focused on improving patient safety in high-acuity medical departments through advanced clinical information systems. PCTS markets the Amelior ED(TM) patient care system, a comprehensive clinical system for emergency departments, and Amelior EDTracker(TM) passive tracking, the most widely implemented passive patient tracking system in U.S. emergency departments. Since joining PCTS in 2004, Portela has launched a consulting services group and championed strategic sales and business development initiatives. Portela has 20 years of sales and marketing experience and is an accomplished and frequent speaker on healthcare automation and electronic medical records trends.

"I look forward to contributing to the health care program at the UC Irvine Graduate School of Management," said Portela. "The IT community within health care has more opportunities today than ever before to emulate the successful clinical paradigm of maintaining a strong linkage between practitioners and academic professionals."

About UCI Graduate School of Management

The strength of the school rests in its world-class MBA faculty. Since 2002, the faculty has enjoyed top 15 status in both BusinessWeek and the Financial Times rankings. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) ranks the school's MBA Information Technology focus fourth in the nation. The Financial Times ranks the school's Executive MBA program as 10th best in the country and 22nd in the world. The school was recognized in the most recent U.S. News and World Report and BusinessWeek rankings as one of the best in the country. The Business 2.0 magazine lists the school as one of the top 25 programs in the country, and the best program in Southern California for its ability to emphasize technology.

The school created the first MBA program for health care executives and professionals (HCEMBA) in 1995. It still remains as one of the few Health Care MBA programs in the nation. GSM also hosts a popular health care conference each year, and its newly developed Center for Health Care Management and Policy is envisioned to be a focal point for research and information -- bridging the gap among scholars, academicians, policy leaders, profit, and non-profit organizations and firms.

GSM is located in the heart of Southern California's Tech Coast, one of the highest concentrations of technology firms and talent in the world. For more information, please visit http://www.gsm.uci.edu/school/ or call 949-824-2310.

About Patient Care Technology Systems

Patient Care Technology Systems is dedicated to becoming the leading provider of patient safety solutions in the high-acuity segment of healthcare. Anchored by their flagship solutions, Amelior ED(TM) patient care system, a comprehensive ED information system with integrated clinical decision support, and Amelior EDTracker(TM) passive tracking, the most widely implemented passive tracking system in U.S. emergency departments, PCTS provides a family of integrated and intelligent solutions designed to reduce medical errors and improve the operating performance of high-acuity departments. Amelior ED(TM) patient care system customers have been recognized nationally for department productivity and nursing excellence. PCTS Consulting Services provides packaged and custom consulting services in the areas of clinical automation, change management and functional clusters for private, federal, and non-federal public healthcare providers. PCTS is a founding sponsor of the Emergency Medicine Patient Safety Foundation. For more information, visit www.pcts.com.