Picis Unveils ED PulseCheck 4.0.

The first fully integrated clinical information and revenue management solution for the emergency department

WAKEFIELD, Mass. -- Picis, the leading provider of high-acuity care information systems, today announced the release of ED PulseCheck([R]) 4.0, the company's comprehensive emergency department information system (EDIS). This new version adds three major features to help hospitals improve revenue capture, support clinical decision-making and enhance interoperability. Picis ED PulseCheck, part of the CareSuite([R]) family of high-acuity solutions, is the market-leading EDIS1, automating more than nine million emergency visits annually across the U.S. and Canada.

ED PulseCheck is the only EDIS that combines patient tracking, physician and nursing documentation, integrated risk management and revenue management solutions in a single, easy-to-use Web-native application that operates across one or many emergency departments of a large health system. The solution automates processes to help hospitals improve quality of care, patient satisfaction, operational efficiency and caregiver productivity.

Highlights of ED PulseCheck's new features include:

* Integration with LYNX Revenue Management Solutions - Picis ED PulseCheck and LYNX revenue management solutions are now integrated to enable hospitals to seamlessly combine clinical documentation with revenue management in the ED. It can be difficult for hospitals to accurately track and capture charges in the emergency department due to the unpredictable and fast-paced environment. LYNX revenue management solutions help health systems and hospitals improve ED clinical documentation, reduce compliance risk, and promote accurate and consistent code assignment for appropriate reimbursement. The LYNX E/Point Facility solution has been proven through more than 18 million patients annually and has been deemed compliant by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). ED PulseCheck 4.0 also now integrates with LYNX E/Code, auto-populating charges to help reduce coding and billing turnaround time.

* InSight ED([TM]) - a configurable set of clinical decision support system (DSS) tools that enable clinicians and administrators to create automated "if/then" rules that notify them -- via pager, e-mail or the electronic tracking board -- when certain criteria are met. For example, when the ED is near diversion status, an automatic notification can be sent to designated personnel in or outside of the hospital to help improve patient throughput, productivity and efficiency. Clinical rules can be created to remind physicians and nurses that a patient meets criteria for Joint Commission Core Measures or Physician Quality Reporting Initiatives (PQRI), improving adherence to pay for performance (P4P) and other clinical guidelines. Rules for use in conjunction with the LYNX revenue management solutions can also forewarn clinicians that additional clinical documentation is needed for a type of patient to help ensure proper reimbursement rates for the services provided. This powerful feature also facilitates regulatory reporting by allowing administrators to create custom rules and to easily extract and report on data.

* TouchPoint ED([TM]) - interoperability with other hospital systems is critical in today's multi-vendor environment. ED PulseCheck 4.0 features an intuitive, graphical display to manage third-party interoperability, which enables system administrators to easily test and maintain connectivity between ED PulseCheck and other applications. The TouchPoint ED feature empowers hospital IT staff to share emergency department and patient data across the hospital's enterprise network without the need for special programming resources or deep technical expertise.

"ED PulseCheck 4.0 enables us to optimize our delivery of care and accuracy of documentation. It helps us better manage how we treat patients in the ED and helps the hospital better manage the revenue tied to these services," said Lorna Prutzman, director of emergency services, University of Colorado Hospital. "By leveraging the data that ED PulseCheck collects, clinicians, administrators and department heads can also set up rules to help provide better patient care and improve ED efficiency."

"Emergency departments are facing serious financial pressures as the cost of treating patients rises and reimbursement rates decline," said Mark D. Crockett, M.D., F.A.C.E.P., president of Picis' Emergency Care Division. "Our integrated ED PulseCheck and LYNX revenue management solution can assist hospitals in recapturing lost reimbursements on average of $20 per patient ED visit to $50 or more, depending upon the hospital and its current practices. This can help hospitals improve the financial health of the ED while assisting clinicians in providing better patient care. Together the Picis and LYNX ED solutions process more than 23 percent of all US hospital ED visits."

For more information on ED PulseCheck 4.0, visit www.picis.com/EDResults/.

About Picis

Picis is an established provider of innovative healthcare information technology solutions designed to transform the delivery of patient care information in the high-acuity areas of the hospital, including the emergency department, operating and recovery rooms and intensive care units. Picis offers the most advanced suite of integrated products focused on these life-critical areas of the hospital where the patients are the most vulnerable, the care process is the most complex and an increasing majority of hospital costs are incurred. Headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts, Picis has licensed systems for use in more than 1,300 hospitals in 19 countries. More information is available at www.picis.com.

Picis, CareSuite, PulseCheck, InSight ED, and TouchPoint ED are trademarks of Picis, Inc. (c) 2008 Picis, Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks mentioned herein are the properties of their respective owners. This press release contains express or implied forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, Picis' expectations concerning management's plans, objectives and strategies. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Picis' control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements.

1 Millennium Research Group, Inc, U.S. Markets for Acute Care Clinical Information Systems 2008, (December 2007), pp. 93-96.