Broadlane Hospital Customers Achieve Record E-commerce Utilization Levels.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 8, 2004

Broadlane, the leading provider of innovative business services for the healthcare industry, announced today that it is now processing 70 percent of customers' supply orders through its e-commerce exchange. The company said it believes this to be the highest supply-chain related e-commerce utilization rate in the hospital industry.

Broadlane's e-commerce exchange was established in April 2001 and since that time has grown to serve more than 694 hospitals, processing more than $2 billion annually in purchase transactions. Customers using this technology reap a number of benefits, said the company. Those benefits include:

-- Automated EDI connections over the Internet with all

high-volume suppliers.

-- Purchase order price verification to ensure that the right

price is being paid for every product every time. Only

Broadlane has the technology to identify purchase order price

or product discrepancies in real time.

-- Invoice price verification using a real-time four-way match

between purchase order, shipment confirmation, invoice and

contract.

-- Reduced costs associated with manual ordering methods such as

phone and fax.

-- Sophisticated transaction monitoring of the status of each

transaction to ensure that all transactions are processed in a

timely manner, ensuring timely delivery of products.

"Our focus on e-commerce adoption has paid off," said Lee Marston, Broadlane's chief information officer. "While others are touting connectivity, Broadlane has focused on adoption. We understand what providers really want from e-commerce, and our high customer adoption rates demonstrate their confidence in our technology. Our exchange has electronic connections to all major healthcare suppliers, integrates to all major ERP systems and operates with very high service levels. Just as importantly, we provide superior implementation support for each hospital."

Broadlane hospital customers echo that point of view. "Prior to working with Broadlane we were using another healthcare e-commerce exchange," said George Conklin, chief information officer of CHRISTUS Health, one of the largest and most respected faith-based health systems in the nation. "We switched to Broadlane's e-commerce exchange because it is so well integrated into the overall service offering and has advanced features no other exchange provides. And Broadlane implemented the system in a fraction of the time we were experiencing before."

The advantages of Broadlane's e-commerce technologies do not exclusively benefit Broadlane's hospital customers. Suppliers also are seeing measurable efficiencies as more and more hospitals order electronically.

Indeed, one large manufacturer recently reported to Broadlane that 83 percent of its orders from Broadlane hospital customers are now being received electronically. Just two years ago, none were received electronically. The supplier's high e-commerce utilization rate with Broadlane is more than 30 percent higher than that of any other buying group and more than double of most groups. The supplier also noted that measurable efficiencies have resulted from receiving such a high percentage of orders electronically.

About Broadlane

Broadlane delivers transformational business services to healthcare providers, enabling them to reduce costs and improve operational performance. Through the application of innovative technology and scaled solutions that range from consulting to full-service management, Broadlane is helping to set new standards for efficient healthcare delivery. Broadlane focuses on a growing list of business operations that includes supply chain management, purchased services and labor solutions.

Broadlane customers include leading healthcare providers such as Advocate Health Care, CHRISTUS Health, Community Health Systems, Continuum Health Partners, Kaiser Permanente, Kindred Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare, The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, Universal Health Services, US Oncology, William Beaumont Hospitals and others. Broadlane counts among its customers more than 800 acute care hospitals, more than 3,400 sub-acute care facilities and thousands of physician practices. Broadlane is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Oakland, Calif.; Cincinnati; Dallas; and New York City. For more information, visit www.broadlane.com.