Optio Continues Success in Healthcare Industry.

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2001

Over 25 Healthcare Providers in 2001 Select Optio

Optio Software, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: OPTO), a leading provider of infrastructure software that enables healthcare organizations to communicate between their external patient care partners and applications, today announced that during the first half of 2001, more than 25 healthcare organizations have selected Optio solutions to migrate from traditionally paper-based operations to a system that enables information to be distributed and exchanged seamlessly from existing HIS applications.

These solutions reduce costs and improve efficiencies in various units of a healthcare organization. Given these savings, healthcare organizations are now able to focus on their core objectives, allocating resources to provide better care or purchase needed equipment.

"Optio has worked very hard at learning the needs of the healthcare industry and dedicating resources with a strong knowledge of this specialized market to developing solutions that will provide the greatest benefits," said Jim Kelly, Chief Marketing Officer of Optio Software. "With the success we have had serving our existing customers, we are well prepared to take the next steps in helping organizations with the HIPAA and e-Healthcare initiatives that are on the horizon for all involved in the industry."

Optio has worked with hundreds of organizations within the healthcare industry over the past 20 years. With a team dedicated to this market and many key partnerships with industry leaders Optio is poised to continue its efforts and success.

Optio Solutions At Work

An Optio customer, Mercy Health Partners has continued to build on its Optio solution to help with its e-Healthcare initiatives and regulatory compliance. Initially using Optio's core technology, Mercy moved to electronically generating documents such as admission records, patient wristbands, medical records, lab reports or employee applications from a manual, inefficient paper-intensive process. Mercy was able to save hundreds of thousands of dollars by eliminating the paper processes. Mercy has also added Optio e.ComPayments(TM) for electronic payment processing and Optio e.ComPresent(TM) for presenting documents via the Web.

One of Optio's partners, Quorum Health Resources, selected Optio to offer data automation solutions to its network of hospitals. The benefits that Quorum expects include electronic information distribution across departments within healthcare organizations, as well as increased speed and accuracy of critical documents that are required to offer care.

Another partner that was recently announced, Claredi, will work with Optio to help healthcare organizations reduce risks in their HIPAA-compliance initiatives. Optio's HIPAASmart will be certified for HIPAA EDI compliance through Claredi so that customers will understand the capabilities that HIPAASmart offers for their specific installation.

About Optio Software, Inc.

Optio Software, Inc. provides e-Business infrastructure software that enables providers, payers and patients to effectively exchange information throughout the care continuum. Optio's software improves the quality of an organization's communications by customizing, delivering and exchanging information over a global network of digital destinations.

Optio's products are being used to integrate diverse applications requiring high availability and throughput, as infrastructure for B2B and to tailor the information from enterprise, e-healthcare and legacy applications for delivery and exchange as XML, EDI, web content and customized documents according to individualized requirements. Optio has more than 4,000 customers including over 500 hospitals and some of the country's leading payor organizations. Optio has a dedicated healthcare team that includes development, consulting services, sales, marketing and product management. For more information contact Optio Software - Phone: [phone], Fax: [phone], E-Mail: [e-mail], Corporate Headquarters: 3015 Windward Plaza, Windward Plaza, Fairways II, Alpharetta, GA 30005, Web Site: http://www.optiosoftware.com.

About HIPAA EDI Compliancy 

The Administrative Simplification Subtitle of HIPAA was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1996 as part of the Kennedy-Kassenbaum bill. The bill was initially only intended to guarantee access to health insurance coverage for small business, individuals and people with pre-existing conditions. However, Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) saw this bill as an opportunity to improve on the inefficiencies and lack of standardization within the American healthcare system, as well as make inroads into a growing concern by patients - the security and privacy of their medical information. The bill includes requirements for standardized formats for electronic data interchange (EDI) transactions, standard code sets, national identifiers, as well as rules and regulations aimed at protecting a patient's confidentiality.

Forward Looking Statement

This press release contains statements which may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Optio Software, Inc. and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include fluctuation of our operating results, delays in product development, undetected software errors, competitive pressures, technical difficulties, market acceptance, availability of technical personnel, changes in customer requirements, difficulty integrating acquired companies and general economic conditions. Additional factors are set forth in Optio's Form S-1 Registration Statement dated December 13, 1999 and Form 10-K dated April 28, 2000. Optio undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.