NYC Health & Hospitals Corporation Agrees to Pilot Implementation of Emergency Department System from A4 Health Systems; HealthMatics Selected as Top System for Automating ED.

CARY, N.C. & NEW YORK -- A4 Health Systems(R), a leading provider of healthcare IT solutions, has signed an agreement with New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) to provide the HealthMatics(R) Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) as a pilot implementation at Elmhurst Hospital. Pending the success of the pilot, the system may eventually be installed in all of HHC's 11 acute care hospitals. HHC chose HealthMatics ED to help handle the more than 900,000 adult and pediatric emergency room visits annually at its New York City hospitals, with the goal to enhance patient safety, improve clinical documentation and optimize provider access to patient information.

HHC conducted a rigorous search for an EDIS and A4's HealthMatics ED solution was voted the strongest system throughout the selection process for its comprehensive functionality and proven success at similar hospitals across the country. Through the system, HHC expects to enhance patient tracking, improve access to patient information, facilitate supervision of resident care at its teaching hospitals, improve clinical documentation and billing, and boost patient safety through electronic order entry and prescription management.

Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, the site of the pilot implementation, has a modern 525-bed facility and receives approximately 130,000 visits annually in its Emergency Department. HealthMatics ED will interface with existing hospital systems, including Admit-Discharge-Transfer (ADT) by Siemens, BedTracking(R) by Teletracking, and radiology, lab and clinical patient record by Misys. The interface to the hospital's inpatient electronic medical record (EMR) is especially important since clinical information will be electronically transferred as discrete data, eliminating data re-entry by providers and enabling access to patient chart information across the hospital.

"We look forward to working with A4 and are excited about using HealthMatics ED in the Elmhurst Hospital Emergency Department," said Stuart Kessler, MD, director of Emergency Medicine at HHC's Elmhurst Hospital Center. "After several years of researching and reviewing the various Emergency Department Information Systems available, we believe we have found the best solution to meet our needs. Not only will it benefit our patients, but it will allow our ED staff to work more efficiently by enabling better information flow within the ED, between the ED and the rest of the hospital, and with providers outside of Elmhurst Hospital."

HealthMatics ED electronically streamlines processes for the entire Emergency Department, including tracking, triage, nurse and physician charting, disposition and reporting. HHC will also take advantage of auto paging through HealthMatics ED, which will automatically alert caregivers to events such as returned abnormal lab results, outstanding orders, etc. Other system features include Remote Chart Access for community caregivers and hospital staff, so they can securely access an ED patient's chart via the Web without logging into the HealthMatics ED system.

"Elmhurst Hospital Center's implementation of HealthMatics ED is another step in our continuing efforts to use information technology to improve the delivery of care, improve patient safety and reduce costs," commented Chris Constantino, executive director at Elmhurst. "We hope the system will not only improve efficiency in the Elmhurst ED and the hospital, but more importantly, will allow our providers to better serve the patients we treat."

About Elmhurst Hospital Center

Comprised of 545 beds, a Level I Trauma Center, a 911 Receiving Hospital, and an Emergency Heart Care station; Elmhurst Hospital Center is a major tertiary care provider in the borough of Queens. With centers of excellence in Mental Health, Cardiology, Women's Health, Pediatrics, Rehabilitation Medicine, and Renal Services, Elmhurst Hospital Center offers a superior level of care, utilizing cutting-edge technology including laparoscopic surgery, kidney stone crushing ultrasounds, and the latest in radiation therapy for cancer. Elmhurst Hospital Center also extends its services into the community offering patients treatment at eight different offsite medical clinics and four school-based programs.

About NYC Health & Hospitals Corporation

New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) takes care of the Big Apple. HHC has facilities in all five boroughs of New York City. As the largest municipal healthcare system in the US, HHC operates a network consisting of 11 acute care hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centers, long-term care facilities, over 80 community clinics and a home health care agency. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, MetroPlus, HHC operates a Health Plan which enrolls members in Medicaid, Child Health Plus and Family Health Plus. HHC facilities treat nearly one-fifth of all general hospital discharges and more than one third of emergency room and hospital-based clinic visits in New York City.

About A4 HEALTH SYSTEMS

A4 HEALTH SYSTEMS (www.a4healthsystems.com) is dedicated to promoting community-based healthcare via healthcare IT solutions for consolidated clinical, financial and administrative patient information management. Led by its HealthMatics(R), Canopy(R) and EmSTAT solutions, A4 provides software and service solutions for physician practice and hospital settings to improve and better manage the delivery of patient care. Founded in 1970, A4 has nationally implemented software and services in more than 1,600 healthcare organizations, including physician groups and small practices, and Emergency Departments and hospitals. A4 represents Authorized Access, Anywhere, Anytime and is based in Cary, N.C., with additional locations in New Hampshire, Texas and Michigan. The company is privately held with 400 employees.