FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Launch of Data Exchange by Richmond RHIO Will Make it the Most Electronically Integrated Community of Healthcare Providers in Virginia

Richmond, VA—March 14, 2005—MedVirginia, Central Virginia’s provider-sponsored regional health information organization (RHIO), and Wellogic, a healthcare software solutions company, today announced their partnership to launch a health information exchange (HIE) that enables improved clinical care and supports healthcare business transactions for providers in the Greater Richmond area. Healthcare providers will be able to use clinical applications from multiple vendors, including Wellogic’s Consult solution. The clinical applications will all share the underlying data exchange provided by the Wellogic Platform for Healthcare.

Key among the many data integration features of the HIE will be an e-prescribing capability that consolidates medication histories from multiple sources. This integration is critical to a major MedVirginia goal of reducing adverse drug events. In the United States, 20 percent of seniors have five or more chronic conditions for which they are being treated. These seniors receive an average of 40 prescriptions per year written by eight to ten different physicians. However, there is no single database that lists a patient’s medication history for a physician to reference during diagnosis and treatment, leading to a significant risk of drug-related adverse events. The HIE will substantially reduce this risk, providing an integrated database of medications, along with decision support tools, to help ensure appropriate medications are being prescribed.

“With healthcare as fragmented as it is, a key step to improving patient safety and managing costs is to bring down the walls between provider organizations,” said Dr. James Ratliff, chairman of MedVirginia’s Board of Managers. “Physicians have been hindered by disjointed, cumbersome access to patient information, and MedVirginia is perfectly positioned to address this need through community-wide collaboration. As secure and timely access to clinical data is essential for sound patient care, we are confident our community will find our services to be of enormous value.”

The MedVirginia health information exchange will go live July 1. In addition to medication histories and allergies, it will integrate clinical results from the community’s initial provider sponsor, Bon Secours Richmond Health System, along with local reference lab data and information from physician practices.

“We are so pleased to have Bon Secours as our initial sponsor and data provider, as this initiative would not be possible without their support,” said Michael Matthews, MedVirginia’s chief executive officer. “We appreciate the leadership that the community is providing, and look forward to enabling physicians to take advantage of these tools to realize the ultimate benefit to our patients—safer, more efficient, and more effective healthcare. We are also delighted to partner with Wellogic, given their unique capabilities and approach to affordably and rapidly connect health information systems across communities. With this robust, flexible, and scalable platform, we will be able to bring even more solutions to our physicians in the near future.”

“We are particularly impressed by MedVirginia’s strength in creating a politically viable, financially sustainable, and replicable model to encourage health information collaboration across communities,” said Sumit Nagpal, Wellogic’s president and CEO. “MedVirginia’s determination to allow its members technological choice, while creating a longitudinal patient record that is secure, accessible, and comprehensive, directly aligns with Wellogic’s vision and solutions, which regard each participant as a first-class citizen. Together we are creating a shining example of a healthcare community with better outcomes and reduced costs, as laid out in the national healthcare information technology agenda.”

About MedVirginia

MedVirginia is Central Virginia's only provider-sponsored regional health information organization (RHIO). Responding to the unique "business to business" interdependencies present in today's complex health care environment, MedVirginia is uniquely positioned to support clinical and administrative process improvement on behalf of its diverse membership.

Wellogic provides clinical software solutions, solution frameworks, and development consulting services to healthcare organizations. Wellogic Consult, the company’s award-winning clinical solution, unifies patient information and clinical workflows across hospital, payer, employer, pharmacy, and service provider systems, providing a comprehensive patient record and clinical decision support at the point of care.