Alteer Corp. Launches First ASP -- Application Service Provider -- to Automate the Workflow in Physician Offices.

Business Editors &Health/Medical/High-Tech Writers

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 2000

Alteer Office Reduces Administrative Costs More Than 20%, Improves

Patient Care and Connects Physicians to the Internet 

Alteer Corp., the premier e-health company providing solutions to automate workflow in physician offices, has introduced Alteer Office, the first integrated ASP (application service provider) that incorporates all clinical and business functions within a doctor's office.

Alteer Office is available over the Internet, eliminating the costly upfront investment in software and hardware that often discourages physicians from adopting information technologies for their offices.

&uot;Alteer Office fully automates and electronically connects physicians with staff, patients, and other partners in the healthcare industry,&uot; said Charlie Hearn, President and CEO of Alteer Corp. &uot;Unlike typical practice management systems that handle billing or scheduling, Alteer Office integrates the entire workflow of the doctor's office into one system. The result is a reduction of administrative costs greater than 20%, better patient care and better service to patients.&uot;

Alteer recognizes that today's paper-intensive office will not be transformed into a pure Web-based solution overnight. Consequently, Alteer system employs technologies that are currently in use - such as fax and telephone - and adds document scanning and Internet technology to make its system practical and user-friendly. Through this combination of technologies, Alteer Office seamlessly automates day-to-day administrative tasks, creates paperless medical records, and organizes the flow of patients, information, documents, and communication.

Alteer Office has the potential to revolutionize the way in which today's physicians practice. Currently, the vast majority of the 730,000 physician offices in the United States still operate each day in a paper- and labor-intensive environment that wastes time and resources, and as a result, provides less than optimal service to patients. Most doctors and healthcare professionals spend more than 80% of their time collecting, processing, retrieving, communicating and generally dealing with information.

With Alteer Office, patient records are stored in a computer instead of a paper chart; all the information is available to the doctor and office staff with a click of a mouse. Physicians can access patient information from the office, hospital or home.

Up until now, the adoption rate for the computerized patient record (CPR) has been low - according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences no more than 5% - due to the large investment required for information technology. With Alteer Office, physicians are not required to make this investment. As an application service provider, or ASP, Alteer offers a turnkey solution on a subscription basis. For a monthly fee, Alteer provides hardware, software, Internet connectivity, support and maintenance.

&uot;Alteer frees doctors from the hassles of managing complex software or hiring information technology experts to deploy and support the system, and allows them to focus on what matters most quality patient care,&uot; said Francis H. Rhie, M.D., Alteer's Chief Medical Officer and a co-founder of the company.

Alteer's solutions are already deployed in physicians' offices in Orange County. With a recent financing, the company plans to expand distribution nationwide in 2000.

&uot;In the past 18 years, I wanted to have the assurance that I could go home without worrying about my patients,&uot; said Dr. Shashidhar Acharya of Acharya and Sharma Medical Group in Orange, Calif. Dr. Acharya has been using Alteer Office since Nov. 1, 1998, and as a result, he has seen tremendous changes in his practice and his life. &uot;With Alteer, I can leave by 6:00 or 7:00 pm and everything is taken care of. It feels good knowing that all of my work has been completed, and nothing is left over for the next day.&uot;

In addition to automating all aspects of the physician's office, Alteer provides physicians a wide range of Internet services, including e-mail, to improve communication with patients and other healthcare professionals. Patients can interact online with their doctors' offices, easily requesting refills, lab results and appointments. Offices can scan, e-mail, and fax information to other healthcare providers and payors from their desktops. For example, a doctor can quickly order via the Internet a prescription, testing from a laboratory, or refer a patient to a specialist.

Alteer's services also address the important issue of the quality of healthcare information that patients obtain through the Internet. Alteer allows physicians to position themselves as a portal through which their patients receive trusted healthcare information. Physicians can set up their own Web sites and select the health education information they trust. Since physicians will be able to pick and choose the content of their sites, they will ensure the information their patients review will be safe and reliable.

For more information on Alteer Office, contact Scott Belcher, 949/789-0500.

About Alteer Corp.

Alteer Corp. (htttp://www.alteer.com), headquartered in Irvine, Calif., is an e-health company deploying its solutions as an Application Service Provider (&uot;ASP&uot;) for physicians' offices. Alteer utilizes Web-based solutions for its software applications that address the administrative and communications needs of physician practice groups, to improve their operational efficiency and the quality of care. Alteer is the only solution that completely automates the entire workflow in the physician's office - from scheduling to prescription renewals to billing to eligibility verification and pre-authorization. Alteer re-engineers the workflow, information, documents, and patient flow within the office. A private company, Alteer was founded in 1996. Institutional investors in Alteer Corp. include Edgewater Funds, Kingsbury Capital Partners and Bluestem Capital Company.