`Surgeon's Notes' First Ever Software Solution to Eliminate O.R. Transcription Needs.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

ATLANTA--(BW HealthWire)--April 3, 2001

Information Tool Will Help Hospitals Meet JCAHO Standards

While Eliminating Transcription Costs

Surgical Information Systems announces the release of Surgeon's Notes, a new Paradigm software solution for the O.R. that will significantly improve hospitals' adherence to JCAHO Standards while saving an average of $30.00-$40.00 per case for most hospitals on surgery-related transcription costs.

Surgeon's Notes allows surgeons to create an Operative Report immediately following surgery, without the use of dictation or transcription, in less than 3 minutes of the surgeon's time. The software module is part of an integrated information system that covers "The Whole Operation," from pre-admissions through recovery.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' (JCAHO) Information Management Standards require that an operative report be written or dictated in the medical record immediately after surgery (IM 7.3.2), and that the record be authenticated, or signed, by the surgeon immediately (IM 7.3.2.1) in order to manage the patient throughout the postoperative period and ensure that pertinent information is available to the next caregiver. Based on the number of hospitals receiving JCAHO Type 1 recommendations, indicating insufficient or unsatisfactory compliance, it is apparent that meeting the standards is not always easy. Surgeon's Notes provides a quick, effortless way for surgeons to complete this task.

The Surgeon's Notes software module quickly builds an Operative Report template by extracting important patient care information from the integrated database built through Surgical Information Systems Nursing Intra-op and Postoperative Data Entry modules. Immediately following a surgical procedure, surgeons can quickly review and confirm patient information on a computer screen, make necessary modifications by selecting from a pop-up list, and add specific comments regarding the case, either by point-and-click text entry or via voice. Once the document is complete, the surgeon can electronically sign the record, ensuring that JCAHO requirements have been met - all before leaving the surgical arena. The completed record can then be e-mailed by the physician to the surgeon's office and to the referring physician, and transmitted to medical records simultaneously with one mouse click. The Surgeon's Notes becomes a part of the clinical record and can be easily accessed by the hospital's billing, medical records, lab and other approved departments. The surgeon can view and make addendums to the record via the Internet, all from the comfort of his office.

"Hospitals today are challenged with meeting a multitude of legislative and regulatory requirements," said Richard Jackson, president and CEO of Surgical Information Systems. "Our mission is to make it easier for the hospital's operating rooms to meet these challenges while providing excellent patient care and reducing costs." Jackson added, "Since 1996, our vision has been to capture ALL clinical, financial, and administrative information for the entire perioperative event of the patient. Surgeon's Notes is a great example of how the entire hospital can receive `downstream' benefits when information technology is used to bring added efficiency and accuracy to the operating room and capture all information from `the Whole Operation.'"

Surgical Information Systems offers the only perioperative system that provides clinicians and administrators ALL the clinical and financial data relative to every surgical case. The Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows- or UNIX-based system has an open architecture that is tied into an Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) database. The system includes modules for scheduling, materials management, nursing documentation, resource management, rules-based charging, documentation, PAT, pre-op, intra-op, PACU, surgical notes and anesthesia - enabling healthcare professionals to provide the highest quality care at the lowest possible cost. Surgical Information Systems makes it possible for healthcare facilities to operate more profitably, quantify performance and focus on patient care rather than data collection. Visit the company's Web site at http://www.ORsoftware.com.