Initiate Systems Furthers Its EMPI Leadership in Healthcare Market; Providers Select Initiate to Achieve Highest Available Levels of Patient Data Accuracy and Interoperability.

SAN DIEGO -- Initiate Systems, Inc., the recognized standard in enterprise master person index (EMPI) software for the healthcare industry, today announced that leading U.S. healthcare providers have selected Initiate Identity Hub(TM) software and services for their EMPI and interoperability initiatives. OSF HealthCare, Lakeview Hospital, Hennepin County Medical Center and Virtua Health are among the country's leading healthcare providers that have recently chosen Initiate. Initiate(TM) software and services enable healthcare organizations to create complete views of patient information from data dispersed across multiple facilities, application systems and databases, and deliver a comprehensive picture of each patient in real time to all points of service.

"Initiate's software and services are recognized as the standard for EMPI by healthcare providers," said Scott Harper, senior vice president and general manager of Initiate's healthcare practice. "Providers, payers, RHIOs and public health organizations are choosing Initiate because we have the most accurate, proven and scalable enterprise-wide master person index and patient identification solutions available to assist them in improving patient safety and care, providing new services and ensuring regulatory compliance."

OSF HealthCare, owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, Peoria, Ill., provides state-of-the-art, compassionate care to more than 1.5 million people in Illinois and Michigan. OSF's largest hospital, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, is one of the largest Catholic hospitals in the country and recently won a consumer's choice award. Recognized in Modern Healthcare magazine for seven straight years as one of the top integrated healthcare systems in the United States, OSF HealthCare System chose Initiate Identity Hub(TM) software to link and accurately identify patients, dramatically reduce duplicate identities from patient registration, improve patient search and enhance treatment.

"The increased accuracy of patient identity resulting from the Initiate(TM) EMPI will enhance continued end-user adoption of our IDX CareCast and FlowCast clinical and administrative systems," said Michael Nauman, CIO of OSF Healthcare. "This strategic partnership positions us to provide better information in the future to our care providers, which will result in better outcomes for those we serve. We envision a future system that will allow us to link information from various sources to provide a more complete record across the continuum of care. In addition to patient identity, Initiate's software will improve provider identity, which will assist us in managing physician practice and acute care data throughout the OSF enterprise."

As the second oldest hospital in Minnesota, Stillwater-based Lakeview Hospital has been named one of the nation's top hospitals for its ability to provide compassionate care, quality customer service and health and wellness education to those they serve. Lakeview Health will implement Initiate Identity Hub(TM) software throughout its enterprise, which includes Lakeview Hospital and Stillwater Medical Group.

"Initiate's software will enable registrars to properly identify and link records from inpatient, outpatient and physician practice systems throughout the Lakeview Health enterprise," said Bill Overby, CIO of Lakeview Hospital. "The software will also assist our staff in identifying and resolving duplicate patient identities within our databases, which will ultimately benefit all patients and physicians within our community."

Located in Minneapolis, Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) is a Level 1 Trauma Center and public teaching hospital repeatedly recognized as one of America's best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. The centerpiece of Hennepin County's clinical health services, HCMC offers a full spectrum of inpatient and outpatient services. HCMC chose Initiate(SM) Data Quality Remediation Service to achieve the patient data accuracy needed for the deployment of electronic health records throughout its inpatient and clinical facilities. Initiate has resolved duplications and improved accurate searching, resulting in better overall patient identification. HCMC is also now able to generate precise reports as part of its continuous quality improvement efforts.

Virtua Health is a multihospital healthcare system headquartered in Marlton, N.J. A nonprofit organization, Virtua employs 7,100 clinical and administrative personnel and has 1,800 physicians as medical staff members. Cited for five straight years as one of "Most Wired" health systems in the nation, Virtua has distinguished itself as an early adopter of clinical and digital technologies and for its innovative partnerships with nationally renowned organizations. Recognizing that Initiate's algorithms are the industry standard, Virtua chose Initiate(SM) Data Quality Remediation Service to provide the clean data required for the merging of its Master Patient Indexes (MPIs) into one system. More recently, Virtua selected Initiate to perform file analysis and eliminate fragmented and duplicate records as part of its move toward a document imaging system.

More than 600 Healthcare Customers Have Relied on Initiate Systems

More than 50 healthcare organizations have deployed Initiate Identity Hub(TM) software and more than 600 have relied on Initiate for patient data quality remediation services. Initiate Identity Hub(TM) software is the most accurate, scalable and rapidly implemented EMPI solution available for healthcare providers, integrated delivery networks (IDNs) and regional health information organizations (RHIOs) that want to improve patient identification and customer satisfaction, protect data privacy and security, enable interoperability and provide a critical foundation for electronic health record (EHR) implementations. Initiate(TM) software and services enable strategic initiatives that allow healthcare organizations to improve patient safety and care, provide new services and ensure regulatory compliance.

For more information about Initiate Systems, Initiate Identity Hub(TM) software and Initiate(SM) Data Quality Remediation Service, visit www.initiatesystems.com.

About Initiate Systems

Initiate Systems, Inc. is the leading provider of software for companies, organizations and government agencies that want to create the most complete, real-time views of people, households and organizations from data dispersed across multiple application systems and databases. Initiate Identity Hub(TM) software is more accurate, scalable, rapidly deployed and widely used than any other customer data integration and enterprise master person index solution. Many organizations in the financial services, government, healthcare, hospitality and retail sectors are using Initiate(TM) software to deliver the right data at the right time to all critical touch points. Initiate's proven experience makes it uniquely qualified to enable strategic initiatives that allow organizations to increase revenue and efficiency, and reduce operating costs and risks.