Software Powered by TheraDoc Notably Improves Patient Safety at Franciscan Health System, Washington; Study Confirms Software Decreases Adverse Drug Events and Healthcare Costs.

SALT LAKE CITY -- The comprehensive real-time capabilities of clinical decision support software designed by TheraDoc(R), Inc. were validated by a one-year study completed at Franciscan Health System (FHS), Tacoma, Wash., in 2005. The study compared pharmacy processes before and after the implementation of STELLARA(TM), clinical intervention and patient monitoring software offered by bioMerieux, Inc. and powered by TheraDoc's Expert System Platform(R).

From July 2004 to June 2005, FHS pharmacy management monitored the number of medication orders and the staff's productivity for six months prior to the implementation of STELLARA as compared to the first six months post implementation. The benchmark study revealed these compelling results:

--  Six month cost savings from interventions increased by
        $563,412
        (23 percent increase)

    --  Pharmacists prevented 222 more adverse drug events (ADEs) post
        implementation
        (23 percent increase)

    --  Interventions made by pharmacists increased from 17,906 to
        27,667
        (55 percent increase)

The software proved to significantly decrease adverse drug events and healthcare costs while improving pharmacist productivity. In addition, FHS pharmacists efficiently managed a 41 percent increase in medication orders without forfeiting quality or adding staff.

Study results were presented by J. Kelly Martin, PharmD and FHS director of pharmaceutical services, on Dec. 5 at the 2005 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear Clinical Meeting in Las Vegas, and published in the November issue of U.S. Pharmacist.

The FHS study demonstrates that TheraDoc and bioMerieux have successfully partnered to help hospitals increase the quality and safety of patient care while increasing productivity and generating significant cost savings.

"We are pleased to have such impressive results emerge from FHS, a healthcare organization known for being progressive and that shares our dedication to improving patient care," stated Stan Pestotnik, president and co-founder of TheraDoc. "Through our partnership with bioMerieux, both pharmacists and the physicians they support will continue to benefit from the real-time capabilities of STELLARA, enabled by TheraDoc's comprehensive clinical decision support software."

In 2004, TheraDoc partnered with bioMerieux, a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, to configure components of TheraDoc's Expert System Platform -- Antibiotic Wizard(TM) and Dose Assistant(TM) -- into bioMerieux' new integrated solution, STELLARA. When implemented in a hospital, STELLARA collects microbiology results from bioMerieux' BacT/ALERT(R) and VITEK(R) systems, which identify bacteria, susceptibility and resistance patterns. STELLARA concurrently monitors other healthcare information systems such as patient registration, transfer, demographics, and pharmacy orders, to combine with microbiology results.

TheraDoc's Expert System Platform makes it possible for STELLARA to analyze patient data, translate it to actionable information and push it to clinicians at the point-of-care. When triggered by events such as inappropriate medications, potential adverse events or medical errors, STELLARA alerts clinicians and delivers microbiology results and patient information in real-time. TheraDoc's Antibiotic Wizard also allows STELLARA to support informed clinical decision-making by providing evidence-based medical knowledge and formulary preferences within patient- and disease-specific therapeutic recommendations.

Thus, STELLARA powered by TheraDoc enables more timely clinical interventions, more appropriate prescribing, a reduction of ADEs and increased clinician productivity.

About Franciscan Health System

Franciscan Health System (FHS) includes 335-bed St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, 110-bed St. Clare Hospital in Lakewood, 108-bed St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way; Franciscan Medical Group (a network of primary-care and specialty-care clinics and physicians); Franciscan Hospice House; and Franciscan Care Center.

FHS is affiliated with Catholic Health Initiatives, one of the nation's largest not-for-profit health care systems. On the Net: FHS site: https://www.fhshealth.org.

About bioMerieux, Inc.

A global leader in disease prevention and management, bioMerieux provides assays, reagents and instrumentation for clinical microbiology, coagulation, immunoassay, and nucleic acid diagnostics; and also for product quality control in the blood bank, agri-food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. Based in Marcy-l'Etoile, France, the company's U.S. headquarters is in Durham, North Carolina. On the Net: bioMerieux site: www.biomerieux-usa.com.

About TheraDoc, Inc.

TheraDoc is a medical informatics company specializing in therapeutic, real-time decision support that improves the quality, safety, and efficiency of patient care in large and small healthcare organizations. Integrated with disparate hospital information systems or electronic medical records, TheraDoc's technology helps clinicians manage multiple processes of care across multiple conditions and diseases.

Founded in 1999, TheraDoc designs, develops, and supports a suite of clinical decision support technologies. TheraDoc's founders and core medical informatics team are internationally recognized for their pioneering work in medical expert systems. Their experience in clinical decision support design and development spans two decades. On the Net: TheraDoc site: www.theradoc.com.