CHICAGO (March 31, 2009) – Initiate Systems, Inc., a leader in data management solutions that enable the exchange of health information, today introduced Initiate® Interoperable Health. This solution helps healthcare organizations achieve objectives targeted at reducing medical errors by improving access to patient information at all points of care, increasing operational efficiencies by recognizing patients across all points of registration and lowering costs by reducing resources required for data quality and management.
Initiate Interoperable Health has the ability to associate information from multiple systems and sources with virtually any number of entities, including patients, care providers, health plan members and their records. This uniquely positions Initiate to support data exchange between hospitals, healthcare providers, health insurers and government agencies, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Initiate Interoperable Health sets the stage for large-scale health information technology (HIT) implementations, such as electronic health records (EHRs), and supports the objectives of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 by enabling organizations to reduce costs by making more meaningful use of their data.
“Healthcare systems developing interoperable networks are the grassroots of a global movement to rapidly improve information sharing,” said Bill Conroy, president and CEO of Initiate Systems. “As indicated by the level of investment in the stimulus package, interoperability is no longer a technological option -- it is a fundamental requirement for
delivering effective care and ensuring the health and well-being of millions of patients worldwide in a cost-conscious way.”
Initiate’s unique standards-based communication protocol and adaptable data model encourage interoperability and remove the need to “rip and replace” legacy applications - a significant cost consideration in HIT initiatives. It provides for integration of data from all systems, from legacy applications to the latest portal offerings.
The solution serves as a foundation for addressing problems that could lead to duplicate testing, lost referrals, over-extended benefits and extended days to payment. Initiate Interoperable Health is extensible, allowing health organizations to start with a specific challenge, such as patient registration, and grow from there. Recognizing patients at the point of registration reduces redundant questioning, errors caused by manual re-entry and chart duplication. By using this solution to gain a more complete understanding of patients’ care, providers can locate data about health histories, prescriptions, lab tests, allergies and other information that helps them “connect the dots” and apply valuable analytics to help reduce medical errors and improve patient safety.
Initiate Interoperable Health also can be used to address the reconciliation of provider credentialing and contracting information to ensure that only qualified, certified practitioners are delivering care.
Conroy said optimized patient intelligence achieved through effective interoperability will help strengthen anti-fraud efforts, help ensure timely and accurate Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements and make it easier to manage regulatory compliance. He added that the healthcare industry is entering an “Age of Interoperability,” and “Organizations that do not strategically plan now to provide a meaningful level of information sharing will be at a severe disadvantage both financially and competitively in the marketplace.”
Initiate’s proven solutions are in use today in more than 100 healthcare organizations worldwide from hospitals, independent delivery networks (IDNs) and regional health information organizations (RHIOs) to payers, retail pharmacies and government health agencies. Initiate will be participating in HIMSS09 Annual Conference and Exhibition, April 4-8, 2009, at McCormick Place, Chicago. Visit Initiate at booth 2048.
About Initiate Systems
Initiate Systems, Inc. enables organizations to strategically leverage and share critical data assets. Its master data management (MDM) software and experience as an information exchange leader provide organizations with complete, accurate and real-time views of data spread across multiple systems or databases, even outside the firewall. This allows companies to unlock the value of their data assets for competitive advantages or operational improvements. Initiate Systems operates globally through its subsidiaries, with corporate headquarters in Chicago and offices across the U.S., and Toronto, London and Sydney. For more information, visit www.Initiate.com.
###