Portneuf Medical Center Selects CliniComp for New Clinical Documentation System and Electronic Medical Record; CliniComp System Chosen by Portneuf Nurses and Physicians for Its Ease of Use and Essentris OnWatch Patient Monitoring Capability.

SAN DIEGO -- CliniComp, Intl., a recognized leader of advanced, hospital-wide clinician documentation systems with EMR, today announced that Portneuf Medical Center has selected Essentris(TM) clinical documentation system for installation in its ICU, Heart and Vascular Center and Med/Surg units. Portneuf will also utilize Essentris OnWatch(TM) for hospital-wide proactive patient monitoring, helping Portneuf intensivists and hospitalists detect and intervene earlier with patients in clinical decline.

"We set up a multi-disciplinary team to extensively test and evaluate vendor offerings," said John Wilker, CFO at Portneuf. "CliniComp was the clear leader in terms of ease of operation, good functionality and the ability to offer the Essentris OnWatch component for patient monitoring. Especially after visiting some of their customer sites and seeing the system in operation, we knew this would be a good choice."

Portneuf chose CliniComp after a lengthy and deliberate IT strategic planning process. With the Essentris system, Portneuf can achieve its goal of creating a paperless, integrated patient record and as a result, make the delivery of care more efficient, physicians more productive and maintain its reputation for a short length of stay. "CliniComp's system also made economic sense. It integrates nicely with our current IT architecture and is competitively priced especially when one considers its stellar performance and functionality," added Wilker.

"The fact that Portneuf took the time and dedication to investigate all the options out there and ended up choosing us speaks to our commitment to product quality and customer reputation," said Richard Kremsdorf, M.D., president and CEO of CliniComp. "We also recognize that Essentris OnWatch is an important element. Hospitals are becoming aware that IT can help improve patient safety and OnWatch gives them the ability to achieve rapid response capabilities."

Other considerations for selecting Clinicomp include:

--Integrated EMR capability, able to integrate with existing systems and become the main data repository 

--Ability to preserve current applications and infrastructure

--Longevity in the marketplace and reputation

--Product fits into the staff's workflow

--Fast installation timeframe

--Uptime and well-designed system architecture and service model

Portneuf Medical Center

Portneuf Medical Center (PMC) is a county-owned facility serving Southeast Idaho for over 75 years. PMC is currently located on two campuses with 264 beds offering acute and long-term care. As a result of the consolidation of two hospitals in 2001, the facility has had the opportunity to expand into a comprehensive cancer treatment program and recently opened a new heart and vascular center. The second largest employer within the community, PMC offers a full array of services providing care in an approximately 150-mile service area radius with a total population of 175,000. The facility has an active medical staff of approximately 160 physicians and is successfully partnering with physician groups to establish future joint venture opportunities. Successful partnerships also extend to the local university with a statewide healthcare professions mission.

About CliniComp

Founded in 1983, CliniComp, Intl. is a pioneer in its field, developing advanced hospital-wide clinician documentation systems for hospitals, integrated delivery networks, academic medical centers and other acute care providers. By completely automating the documentation process for each hospital's patient care environment, manual charting is eliminated. This in turn greatly reduces errors, improves productivity, and allows for better information flow. Automated charting forms the very foundation of the hospital-wide electronic medical record. For more information about CliniComp, please call 800-350-8202 or visit www.clinicomp.com.