Object Products, Inc. Teams with International Diabetes Center to Develop Software for Diabetes Disease Management.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BW HealthWire)--June 8, 1999--

Object Products, Inc., an information technology company specializing in Internet-enabled software solutions for clinical management, and the International Diabetes Center, a Minnesota not-for-profit organization that focuses on diabetes research, treatment and education, announced they have signed a letter of intent to develop an Internet-based diabetes disease management software system. The system will automate the Center's Staged Diabetes Management (SDM(TM)) program and integrate patient assessment, treatment, and outcomes management.

SDM is a scientifically based system for improving diabetes care in primary care settings. Currently in use in leading clinics, universities, integrated health care systems, and HMOs across the United States and around the world, SDM promotes effective screening and early diagnosis, increases referrals for education, strengthens surveillance of potential complications, improves patient outcomes, and reduces costs.

"International Diabetes Center is a worldwide leader in diabetes research, treatment and education," says Jack D. Anderson, Object's chairman and CEO. "Using our software and the Internet to automate and deliver the Center's proven clinical care guidelines, integrated with our outcomes management tools, will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of diabetes disease management."

"We looked at 20 different software vendors to automate SDM. Only Object met our requirements for integrating patient assessment, patient care management, and outcomes measurement," says Roger Mazze, Ph.D., senior vice president, International Diabetes Center. "And, their technology enables rapid software customization and easy modification so that we can change it to reflect advances in diabetes research and treatment as well as to support ongoing SDM improvements."

Object develops software with its Organic Architecture(TM), an advanced, object-oriented technology architecture. Innovative in its use of object technology, it limits code to the architecture itself in the underlying object tools developers use. Actual applications contain no code. Eliminating the need to write applications in code makes it easier and faster to develop and modify software, a critical advantage for healthcare organizations that must adapt IT solutions to keep pace with rapidly changing requirements.

Object has adopted the Application Service Provider (ASP) model for software distribution. Application software is hosted on centrally managed network facilities. Customers pay a monthly subscription and download and run the company's applications over the Internet. To offer its solutions on a subscription basis over the Internet, Object has teamed with Conxion Corporation, a leading Internet delivery service provider, based in Santa Clara, Calif.

International Diabetes Center has a nationwide network of 10 affiliated centers in 8 states that serve 27 hospitals and 13 clinics. As a World Health Organization (WHO) collaborating center for diabetes education, translation and computer technology, the Center also has international partners in South America, Europe and Asia. "Object's ability to deliver and deploy software over the Internet from a centralized server will help us continually translate our leading research and clinical experience into practical disease management solutions across the U.S. and around the globe," says Mazze.

International Diabetes Center (Minneapolis, Minn.) is a world leader in the development, evaluation and implementation of education and treatment models designed to improve the health and lives of people with diabetes. Founded on the belief that quality, comprehensive diabetes care requires informed patients working with knowledgeable, concerned health professionals in a planned system of care, the Center partners with patients, providers, payers and industry to bring this vision into being. International Diabetes Center is part of the Institute for Research and Education, HealthSystem Minnesota.

Object Products, Inc. is an information technology company focused on providing fully Internet-enabled solutions for clinical management. Object's strategic goal is to integrate the management of healthcare clinical and business processes into one unified system. Object develops software with the Organic Architecture(TM), its advanced object oriented technology, that makes applications readily adaptable to rapidly changing requirements.

Note to Editors: Object Products, Inc. will demonstrate its outcomes management and disease management applications running over the Internet at the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) Display Forum, Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, June 20-22. Object will be at booth No. 725.