Christiana Care Selects Patient Care Technology Systems' Passive Tracking Software; EDTracker Software to Improve Patient Flow in Emergency Department.

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. -- Patient Care Technology Systems today announced that Christiana Care Health System of Wilmington, Del., has selected the EDTracker(TM) passive tracking software to improve workflow in its Christiana Hospital emergency department. Christiana Care is an integrated delivery system serving patients in Delaware and the surrounding areas.

Developed by Healthcare I.T. Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., a Patient Care Technology Systems (PCTS) company, the passive tracking software provides real-time, wireless tracking of the location of patients and assets through badges worn by patients and staff in the emergency department and ancillary areas. Using a rules-based intelligence, data is translated into information on the care status and location of a patient and is communicated in real-time on electronic tracking boards with no data entry required by ED clinicians and staff. The elimination of data entry and the ability to generate detailed reports of all patient flow history assists emergency departments to improve workflow and overall efficiency, key factors in managing increasing patient volumes.

"We are excited to implement the EDTracker software to improve patient flow in our emergency department," said Steve Hess, CIO at Christiana Care. "We see over 90,000 patients each year at our Christiana Hospital emergency department, and it is critical that we have a proven system to centrally communicate and manage patient care with speed and accuracy. We did not find another system that tracked patients as comprehensively with as little data entry demands on the clinicians and staff as the EDTracker software."

The EDTracker software utilizes a Web-based, Microsoft(R) .NET platform facilitating the use of thin client workstations to minimize space requirements within an emergency department. "The primary advantage of using passive tracking is that a tremendous amount of patient information is collected without requiring the staff to enter any data," said PCTS VP of tracking solutions, Tony Marsico. "It is a comprehensive real-time communication portal that a department can use to actively manage their work flow and then retrospectively analyze trends through the integrated reporting module."

"The EDTracker will provide our emergency department staff immediate feedback on a patient's progress throughout the department and will be a patient care enhancement as we continue to better serve the community," said Linda Laskowski Jones, RN, MS, CS, CCRN, CEN, director, Trauma, Emergency and Aeromedical Services.

"The EDTracker solution is the most widely implemented passive tracking system in U.S. emergency departments," said Rephael Inbar, CEO of PCTS. "It is now available to integrate with the Amelior ED(R) patient care system, our ED information system that provides clinical charting, computerized physician order entry (CPOE) and clinical decision support. And as is the case with all PCTS solutions, EDTracker is available to hospitals on an affordable per patient visit cost basis requiring no capital investment for the software or even the hardware. Everything required to implement and support your passive tracking system is included."

Earlier this month, PCTS announced the acquisition of Healthcare I.T. Inc. With a combined customer base of 45 hospitals, PCTS is one of the largest and fastest growing ED information system providers.

About Christiana Care

Christiana Care Health System, which traces its roots back to 1888, is one of the region's largest not-for-profit health care providers, serving the people of Delaware as well as neighboring Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A teaching hospital, Christiana Care is recognized as a regional center for excellence in cardiology, cancer and women's health services, as well as Level-I trauma care and Level-3 neonatal intensive care (both highest intensity). Christiana Care operates two hospitals, long-term and transitional care services and an extensive range of outpatient and home health services. Christiana Care, a 2004 Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence, provided more than $37 million of charity care last year. For more information, please visit www.christianacare.org.

About Patient Care Technology Systems

Patient Care Technology Systems (PCTS) is dedicated to becoming the leading provider of patient safety solutions in the acute care segment of healthcare. Anchored by their flagship solutions, the Amelior ED(R) patient care system, a comprehensive ED information system with clinical decision support, and EDTracker(TM), the most widely implemented passive tracking system in the United States, PCTS provides a network of integrated and intelligent solutions designed to reduce medical errors and improve the operating performance of high acuity departments. Amelior ED(R) customers have been recognized nationally for department productivity and nursing excellence. PCTS consulting services provides packaged and custom consulting services in the areas of clinical automation, change management and Functional Clusters(SM) for private, federal and non-federal public healthcare providers. The company's headquarters is located at 32 Journey, Suite 250, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656, telephone [phone]. For more information, visit www.pcts.com and www.healthcareit.com.