SoftMed Successfully Integrates Clinical Abstracting Module with ICD-10 for Canadian Customers.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

BETHESDA, Md.--(BW HealthWire)--May 10, 2001

SoftMed Systems, Inc., a leading provider of healthcare information software and services, announced the successful, on-time installation of their Canadian ClinTrac(TM) Clinical Abstracting module at Lion's Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. SoftMed released the Canadian-specific software module as a versatile solution for healthcare organizations to implement the Canadian Institute for Health Information's (CIHI) ICD-10 regulations, which became effective in April.

"This is a very exciting product for Canadian healthcare providers," said Don Segal, president and CEO of SoftMed. "It is not just an American product 'dressed up' to work in Canada. It actually has distinct Canadian fields and functionality that we think surpasses all competitors."

Sharon Baigent, regional manager of health information for North Shore Health Region said, "SoftMed's timeliness and responsiveness on the implementation of the ClinTrac Clinical Abstracting module allowed us to begin coding and abstracting in ICD-10-CA/CCI on time, as required by CIHI."

"The software meets Canadian-specific requirements and is very friendly to the end-users. We are looking forward to a continuing relationship with the SoftMed professionals," Baigent added.

SoftMed's Canadian ClinTrac Clinical Abstracting module works with the ICD-10 classification system to provide a seamless, accurate flow of information while abstracting patient visits. The module includes standard Canadian fields with a Canadian report package; CIHI data validations that enable the product to be employed in any province, with minimal pre-installation setup; the ability to export data for provincial requirements and different provincial fiscal periods; and the ability to track multiple provider services, per provider.

Segal added, "This is just the beginning. There are many other Canadian needs we hope to address in the future, like the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS) and the Canadian Joint Replacement Registry (CJRR), just to name two."

SoftMed's ClinTrac family has four modules sharing an integrated database of information supported by Microsoft's SQL(R) Server database platform.

-- Clinical Abstracting can be seamlessly integrated with an encoder/grouper
system, supports MPI and EMPI identification, multi-facility coding, and
customized screen chaining to match workflow.

-- Care Planning Manager has customized work lists for integrated discharge
planning, as well as clinical and quality indicators.

-- Quality Manager, focused on real-time quality activities with tracking of
specific indicators by patient type, diagnosis code, visit and provider.

-- Risk Manager tracks detailed adverse events information linked to any number
of parameters, providing a global "big picture" view down to specific
incidents.

Lion's Gate Hospital is located in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the North Shore. It is part of the North Shore Health Region, which provides a comprehensive range of general and specialized health services and supports to more than 190,000 local residents. The Region has an annual budget of more than $200 million and serves the communities of North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Bowen Island and Lions Bay. The North Shore Health Region is one of the largest health regions in British Columbia.

SoftMed Systems, founded in 1983, is the sixth largest provider of integrated healthcare delivery systems.(a) SoftMed partners with today's healthcare executives to transform patient information into better-quality healthcare. SoftMed's products are found in 12 out of the 15 facilities on America's Best Hospital Honor Roll"(b) and more than two-thirds of the University Health System Consortium.(c)

For more information about SoftMed products, call 1-800/695-4447 or visit www.SoftMed.com on the Internet.

(a) Dorenfest & Associates, 1999; (b) US News, July 2000; (c) UHC

membership roster, December 2000.