Broadlane Launches Secure Online Customer Portal.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Broadlane, the procurement services company for healthcare, announced today that it has launched OnRamp, a comprehensive online customer portal. OnRamp provides quick and secure access to data, knowledge and services that Broadlane customers need to do their work -- and to make critical business decisions that can save them money.

"For the first time, the entire scope of our technology, services and data will be accessible to our customers in a single place, just a click away," said Charles E. Saunders, M.D., Broadlane's chief executive officer. "We believe that OnRamp is among the most robust business portals offered to healthcare facilities in the United States. For our customers whose job is to manage costs, OnRamp combines sophisticated tools for managing procurement with the intuitive, convenient online experience they expect in the Internet age."

OnRamp was launched on August 1 in a beta format, and today's announcement heralds the full launch of OnRamp to all registered users of Broadlane's contract management system.

OnRamp features a wide array of resources tailored for healthcare providers. Among them:

--Integrated access to all customer-facing Broadlane business applications, data and content

--Easy access to supplier contract terms and pricing, with direct links to the latest contract announcements and updates

--A new catalog viewer offering faster, more-intuitive and more-relevant search results

--Advanced spend analysis reports with ad hoc queries, interactive drill-down capabilities and scheduled report delivery features

--Clinical pharmacy cost management tools, including tier and market reports and price verification

--Knowledge resources such as case studies, white papers and other publications

--News, events, online surveys and a forum for threaded-topic discussions

Broadlane selected the BEA WebLogic Portal as the foundation for its newest generation of Web applications. The new infrastructure is helping Broadlane deliver on its service-level agreements with customers. The typical SLA guarantees 99 percent uptime for Web-based applications, and Broadlane has been able to exceed that level consistently since adopting the BEA WebLogic Portal.

Broadlane customers engaged in early beta testing provided initial positive feedback. "OnRamp's content was truly eye-opening," said Debbie Doddridge, director of procurement systems and capital for Kindred Healthcare in Louisville, Ky. "The range of services offered was broader than I realized. What's more, OnRamp is speedy, easy to see and makes it easy to find more."

Dennis Brown, director of pharmacy, pulmonary and neurodiagnostic services for Providence Health, Kansas City, Kan., found OnRamp's knowledge section helpful. "I like the clinical overviews, and the overall knowledge area provides a lot of good resources. Overall, the site flows well."

Said Lee Marston, Broadlane's chief information officer: "We believe that the key to improved procurement efficiency for healthcare providers is having access to actionable information -- that is information they can act upon to meaningfully improve their organization's efficiency -- and OnRamp will give them the tools to do so."

Before OnRamp was developed, Broadlane customers interacted with the company principally through an online contract management system that housed information used mainly by healthcare material managers, buyers and pharmacists.

"As Broadlane has greatly expanded its business services for providers and its roster of customers, the need has correspondingly increased for even more targeted, timely and relevant communications," said Charlie Morrison, Broadlane's director of customer communications.

Broadlane customers and employees will play a central role in providing feedback and system evaluations during the OnRamp development phases. Customers can access OnRamp by going to the Broadlane Web site at www.broadlane.com and clicking on the OnRamp icon.

About Broadlane

Broadlane is the procurement services company for healthcare. Through a comprehensive set of proven procurement processes, Broadlane helps healthcare providers go further to reduce costs and improve financial performance. The company's signature service is group purchasing. Its other services include strategic procurement planning, departmental cost management, and labor sourcing and utilization. Broadlane's innovative technology yields data-driven solutions, which are implemented by an expert staff with deep clinical and operational experience.

Broadlane serves thousands of acute care hospitals, sub-acute care facilities and physician practices across the country. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in California, New York, Ohio and Texas. For more information, visit www.broadlane.com.