Tenet Hospital Will Use APACHE Software to 'Scientifically Improve Critical-care Outcomes'.

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McLEAN, Va--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 2000

APACHE Medical Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMSI), today announced that Redding Medical Center (RMC) in Redding, Calif., has joined the growing list of California hospitals using APACHE decision support systems to "scientifically improve critical care outcomes" by enrolling in a new APACHE partnership program. A Tenet HealthSystem affiliate, RMC is implementing the APACHE(R) Critical Care Series(TM) (CCS) software solution and APACHE Best CareSM Clinical Process Improvement (CPI) Program.

Internationally known in the field of critical care, APACHE is a leading provider of clinical decision support products and consulting services to healthcare providers around the world.

"We are particularly pleased to welcome Redding Medical Center as one of the first to join in our innovative `APACHE Partnership Program'," said APACHE President and CEO Peter Gladkin, who made the announcement at the company's McLean headquarters. "This service model provides more institutions access to the broad benefits of APACHE decision support systems without the need to go through a prolonged capital budgeting process."

Why APACHE

"While APACHE's return on investment is well-documented," observed RMC medical intensivist Frank Sebat, MD, "saving patients is my specialty. Saving money is secondary. What convinced me to use APACHE was that here was an ideal opportunity to scientifically study and improve critical-care outcomes." Sebat is medical director for the 188-bed Northern California hospital's intensive care unit (ICU).

"Without APACHE," added Sebat, "it's difficult to conclusively evaluate how well you're doing because, for the most part, you're `comparing apples and oranges.' How does one really compare clinical outcomes for two patients with different chronic conditions, acuity levels, treatment modalities and treating physicians? Ask Dr. X why his patients are staying in the ICU longer than Dr. Y's, and he'll probably say `my patients are sicker.' Before APACHE, who could argue?

"These APACHE equations, which used data from hundreds of thousands of critical care patients as their basis, have been referenced in more than 1000 articles published in peer-reviewed journals. In other words, the fact that the science behind APACHE mortality and length-of-stay predictions has been validated time and again over the years by the medical research community makes physicians respectful of the information generated by the APACHE CCS system. These equations are built into their software system, which automatically adjusts for patient acuity and other differences, enabling a hospital like ours to compare its patient outcomes with those of similar patients at other hospitals."

Using APACHE to study shock and improve patient outcomes RMC also intends to use APACHE to study their shock patient population, 75 percent of whom enter the ICU from the Emergency Room (ER). (Shock is a condition in which inadequate blood flow in the body's tissue results in organ failure.)

"People go into shock for a wide variety of reasons," explained Sebat, "These include allergic reactions, blood loss, injuries, burns, heart attacks, infections and poisoning. Without APACHE data, it's almost impossible to compare outcomes for such a heterogeneous group. We plan to use the APACHE system to evaluate our results and make whatever process improvements the evidence may dictate. We anticipate that this study will help us determine whether the changes we have made in the treatment of shock patients are beneficial."

About Redding Medical Center

Founded in 1945 as Memorial Hospital, Redding Medical Center (RMC) is the centerpiece of a regional health care system serving far Northern California. Well-known locally for its cardiac care, RMC was purchased in 1976 by Santa Barbara-based Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC), which owns or operates 113 acute-care hospitals and related businesses in 17 states.

In addition to an 11-bed intensive care unit (ICU), an adjacent 14-bed cardiovascular ICU (CICU) and a 12-bed coronary care unit (CCU), RMC's 36-bed progressive care unit (PCU) provides an intermediate level of nursing care. Patients awaiting or recovering from angioplasty are cared for in a special eight-bed PTCA unit.

Visit www.tenethealth.com/redding for more info.

About APACHE

APACHE Medical Systems, Inc.--a recognized leader in clinical decision support/outcomes management systems and consulting services for the care of high-risk patients--provides products and services that enable health systems, hospitals and providers to apply an evidence-based approach to achieve clinical performance excellence, reduce cost and compete effectively under managed care. APACHE is helping providers better manage the clinical, financial and patient outcomes of high-risk, high-cost patients in critical, acute, cardiovascular and HIV/AIDS care.

One of the most experienced healthcare consultancies in the U.S., APACHE/National Health Advisors is nationally known for its work in the field of integrated delivery system development. Its comprehensive suite of services includes strategic planning, clinical service line management, service reconfiguration, clinical integration and physician partnering, as well as evidence-based care process redesign and clinical performance improvement services.

APACHE's Health Outcomes Research division provides advanced clinical data collection tools, registry management and analytic services for federal government research, as well as in support of clinical trial design and product-effectiveness evaluations for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.

APACHE (www.apache-msi.com) is headquartered in Northern Virginia.

APACHE(R) is a registered trademark, and Critical Care Series(TM) a trademark, of APACHE Medical Systems, Inc. Other brand and/or product names referenced in this press release may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements under provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. The Company wishes to caution readers that the following important factors, among others, in some cases have affected, and in the future could affect, the Company's actual results and could cause its actual results in fiscal 1999 and beyond to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of the Company.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include but are not limited to the Company's having sufficient sales and timely collections to meet cash requirements and achieve profitability; ability to attract and retain key employees; success of its strategy to concentrate its product offerings on high-risk, high-cost patients; ability to timely develop new products and enhance existing products; ability to compete in the competitive and rapidly evolving healthcare information technology industry; ability to correctly estimate and manage its Year 2000 costs and liabilities; success of its marketing and consulting efforts and ability to effectively utilize its direct sales force; ability to protect proprietary information and to obtain necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms; and ability to comply with and adapt products and services to potential regulatory changes.

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