Axolotl Releases Elysium 3.0 and Adds Web-Based Prescription Writing.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 22, 1999--Axolotl Corp. today announced new capabilities in Release 3.0 of its Elysium range of products.

Elysium Access 3.0 now includes Web-based prescription writing and refill management. Elysium Workstation 3.0 has been enhanced to include electronic ordering capabilities.

Elysium Access is the entry-level product of the Elysium clinical messaging product suite -- the first secure, distributed solution for clinical communication between independent providers and their healthcare partners.

Using Elysium Access, healthcare facilities deliver data to their ambulatory care partners over the Internet or an intranet, and physicians use a standard browser to receive and manage data. Elysium Workstation is an upgrade to Elysium Access that provides additional workflow and automation capabilities.

Elysium Access

The Prescription Writer module, previously available only in the more advanced Elysium products, is the latest clinical workflow and automation feature to be migrated to the Web-based Elysium Access.

"The migration of the Prescription Writer into Elysium Access has caused excitement among our users. Elysium Access provides a high level of clinical automation without requiring the move to full Electronic Medical Records," states Ray Scott, CEO of Axolotl. "Our customers can now automate two of the most critical procedures performed by physicians -- prescription writing and refill management."

From a standard Web browser, physicians use the Elysium Prescription Writer to prescribe medications and to renew them -- safely and economically. The Elysium Prescription Writer combines the use of expert databases, Elysium's workflow management tools, and summary patient data including medications, problems, and allergies.

As medications are prescribed or renewed, Elysium Access alerts the user in the event of interactions with drugs or allergies and provides age and sex warnings where appropriate. Medications prescribed are automatically checked against the patient's plan, and the physician is warned of non-compliance.

Prescriptions can be locally printed along with patient education, faxed to designated pharmacies, or securely transmitted over the Internet to participating pharmacies. The pharmacist receives well-formatted prescriptions that include clear patient demographics.

"Automatic alerts about interactions with patients' current medications or allergies can save lives," said Robert Keet, M.D., Medical Director of Axolotl Corp. "In addition, our customers have told us that prescription and refill automation can save a physician's office more than $30,000 per year in overhead."

Physicians using the Elysium Prescription Writer have access to medications prescribed for a patient by participating physicians, an expert database of drug-allergy and drug-drug interactions, pricing and drug dosage information, the formulary applicable to the patient's benefits plan, and comprehensive patient education information in English and Spanish.

Elysium Access 3.0 has been announced for general availability in Q2 1999.

Elysium Workstation

Elysium Workstation 3.0 now includes an Electronic Ordering module. Healthcare suppliers can create online catalogs describing orderable items and services (e.g., lab tests or medical equipment supplies). Physicians use interactive forms linked to these ordering catalogs to place orders.

Orders automatically include patient demographic data and insurance coverage, ensuring that the supplier has all information required to process the order, deliver the results or supplies, and bill the appropriate organization. Interactive order forms can perform checks against patient sex and age and can warn the user if an order seems inappropriate.

Diagnoses and procedures can be checked and warning messages issued if protocols are not observed. As part of Elysium's workflow features, the Elysium Electronic Ordering module provides for tracking of orders and planned procedures with automatic alerts if events do not occur within specified limits.

Elysium Workstation 3.0, which also includes enhanced archiving capabilities, is available now.

About Axolotl Corp.

Axolotl Corp. provides clinical messaging solutions for independent physicians and their healthcare partners. Axolotl's Elysium product suite harnesses Internet, e-mail, and powerful automation technology to link physicians and bring improved patient care and physician efficiency to ambulatory care offices.

Elysium is an open architecture standard with interfaces to existing hospital and laboratory data systems, workflow support, and other clinical automation components. Axolotl's clinical messaging standard connects thousands of physicians and providers in major ambulatory care centers nationwide.

For more information, contact Steve Sedlock, Axolotl Corp., 800 El Camino Real West, Suite 150, Mountain View, CA, 94040, 888/296-5685, [e-mail]. Or, visit the Axolotl Web site at www.axolotl.com.