API and Saint Joseph's Hospital Marshfield, Wisconsin, Win Microsoft Industry Solutions Award.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

HARTFORD, Wis.--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 5, 2001

Automating Peripherals Inc. (API), along with Saint Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield, Wisconsin, today announced that they have won the Microsoft(R) 2001 Industry Solutions Awards for Healthcare (ISAH) competition in the Acute Care, Administrative/Financial Systems category for the Hospital's use of the Payrollmation(R) Series. The ISAH awards, presented at Windows(R) on Healthcare 2001 in San Diego, Calif., the seventh annual conference and exhibition of MS-HUG, recognize developers of healthcare applications and a practicing physician who best use Microsoft technology.

API has won this award, in conjunction with various clients, four times in the past four years.

API and Saint Joseph's Hospital were selected for API's Payrollmation Series, which automates the collection and processing of time and attendance information for the Hospital's 2,400 employees while allowing them the benefit of reviewing their time information from any computer with a standard web browser. Saint Joseph's Hospital has been an API client for more than 10 years, and has been using the current version of the Payrollmation Series for more than two years.

An independent panel of judges selected the seven ISAH winners based on their use of Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft SQL Server(TM) 7.0 or higher and Microsoft enterprise platform technology to provide tangible business benefits to healthcare organizations. The winners were selected from 21 finalists out of a field of 77 entries. Three finalists in each of the seven categories demonstrated their solutions at the Windows on Healthcare 2001 conference, and winners were chosen after the judges viewed their solutions on site.

"This award validates Saint Joseph's Hospital's work to use technology to positively affect the daily lives of staff while also improving the bottom line," said Luis Garcia, CEO and president of API. "It's an honor to receive our fourth ISAH award in four years. This consistency is a tribute to our dedication to healthcare and our partners, including Microsoft and our customers."

With API's Payrollmation, health care organizations can utilize a number of powerful options to manage employee information flow and achieve 100% automation of complex and unique pay policies, even across multiple locations. This allows for more timely and accurate payroll completion without manual intervention, and pay rules and policies are administered more consistently throughout the enterprise. Powerful parameters, indicators and tables within the application support varying policies and give users the ability to prescribe the rules that fit or make changes as the organization does. Reporting options give management a powerful tool with which to make decisions and adjust staffing based on business needs.

About Saint Joseph's Hospital

Founded in 1890 by The Sister's of the Sorrowful Mother, Saint Joseph's Hospital is a 524-bed tertiary care teaching institution. It is one of Wisconsin's largest hospitals and the state's only major rural referral medical center, serving the people of central and northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula, as well as referrals from around the country. The Hospital is the hub of Ministry Health Care, a network of hospitals, physicians and clinics located throughout Wisconsin and Eastern Minnesota.

About API

API is a leading provider of payroll, human resource, time and attendance, education tracking and access control software for healthcare organizations. Founded in 1982, API has more than 350 installations in the United States, with customers ranging in size from 500 employees to more than 15,000 employees. The company has a strategic alliance with Microsoft Corporation and is a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider. The company's Web site address is www.api-wi.com.

About MS-HUG

With headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich., the independent, nonprofit Microsoft Healthcare Users Group is the leading healthcare industry forum for exchanging ideas, promoting learning and sharing solutions for information systems using Microsoft technologies. MS-HUG works to provide industry leadership, drive appropriate standards and develop associated requirements in support of healthcare solutions. The diverse membership of MS-HUG is united by a shared interest in implementing vendor- and user-developed software based on Microsoft technology to improve quality and efficiency in healthcare. More information can be found on MS-HUG's Web site at http://www.mshug.org/.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.