Trillium Health Centre Selects Heartlab's Encompass for Cardiac Image & Information Management.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 2004

Enterprise-wide, multi-modality solution is part of an electronic patient record initiative

Heartlab today announced that Trillium Health Centre, a leading Canadian healthcare provider in Mississauga and Etobicoke, Ontario, has selected Heartlab's Encompass(TM) Cardiac Network to manage the enterprise-wide cardiology image and information management needs of its two sites. Implementing a cardiology image and information management system is part of a larger initiative by Trillium Health Centre to implement fully electronic health records.

"Trillium Health Centre prides itself on providing the highest quality patient care for our patients. We realize the need to create an integrated solution for all aspects of healthcare delivery to ensure the best possible care. The transition to electronic health records will enable Trillium to realize clinical benefits, manage resources more effectively, and provide greater integration of patient data. It increases access to information which facilitates improvements in patient care," Wayne Mills, Vice President of Information Services explained.

Trillium Health Centre is one of Canada's largest providers of cardiac care. In 2005 it is estimated to perform 7,200 cardiac catheterization, 27,000 echocardiography, 6,000 vascular and 5,000 nuclear medicine exams. The Encompass system will enable exams from 2 cath labs, 6 ultrasound units and 4 nuclear cardiology systems across two sites to be accessible anywhere on the enterprise network, and will provide the most advanced cardiology information management available for digital patient data.

"Encompass offers a single patient-centric database that will give our physicians and staff fast access to critical information from a single workstation, saving time and easing communication," Director of Cardiac Services Lina Rinaldi, RN, BSCN, MN said.

The Encompass system will interface with an Agfa IMPAX(R) system giving physicians access to radiology images and as well as cardiology information from a single workstation. The cardiology and radiology studies will be archived on a single enterprise-wide EMC Centera long-term storage system. "Heartlab's ability to store cardiology data on our EMC system enables us to utilize our existing data management infrastructure," said Project Manager EIM Cris Gresser, RN/RDCS/FASE.

The Trillium Health Centre installation will include Encompass web, a component of the Encompass network that supports a 3-tier solution that gives users remote access to images over the organization's secure Internet virtual private network (VPN). Heartlab's Results Management modules will enable physicians to create reports digitally while reviewing studies on-line.

The Encompass implementation at Trillium Health Centre will be completed in several phases with installation of the multimodality image management systems for both hospitals slated to begin in the second quarter of 2004.

"Trillium Health Centre is on the leading edge of a new vision for healthcare information management. While cardiology PACS was previously viewed as a department-level solution, now it is seen as an important component of the overall enterprise-wide IT solution. Encompass is the one solution built to meet the sophisticated cardiology requirements of the new enterprise-wide information paradigm," says Heartlab CEO Robert Petrocelli.

About Heartlab, Inc.

Founded in 1994, Heartlab specializes in the development of cardiac imaging and information management software and the integration of cardiac imaging network systems. Heartlab's networks today are installed in more than 200 of the nation's leading heart centers. For more information about Heartlab, visit www.heartlab.com or call [phone].

About Trillium Health Centre

Trillium Health Centre is one of Canada's leading community hospitals, with expanding tertiary care programs in Cardiac Care, Stroke, Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery. Serving over one million residents in Mississauga, South Etobicoke and from other communities across the province, Trillium has redefined the boundaries of community health care delivery. Housing a model ambulatory care centre, the busiest Emergency service in the country, and the largest free-standing day surgery centre in North America, the two-site facility is attracting international attention for its innovative approach to the provision of health care services. For more information about Trillium Health Centre visit www.trilliumhealthcentre.org.