Eclipsys Announces Two Clients Achieve HIMSS Analytics-Validated Stage 6 Ranking for EMR Adoption Model

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eclipsys Corporation^® (NASDAQ:ECLP), The Outcomes Company^®, today announced that two clients — University Health System, San Antonio, TX, and St. Clair Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA — have achieved Stage 6 ranking in the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics EMR Adoption Model^SM. This is the highest milestone yet achieved in the HIMSS program’s evaluation of a healthcare organization’s adoption of electronic medical records.

The HIMSS Analytics EMR Adoption Model is a methodology that identifies and scores hospitals and health systems using an eight-step scale that charts the path to a fully paperless patient-record environment. Currently, fewer than a dozen organizations across the United States have achieved a validated Stage 6 ranking, according to the HIMSS Analytics web site. An important component of achieving the highest levels of the EMR Adoption Model is for an organization to have the ability to access virtually all patient information across the enterprise, including ambulatory and inpatient environments.

University Health System

University Health System was notified earlier this month that it met the criteria for the Stage 6 ranking after a three-phased validation process which included a survey, interview, and verification of the level of technology used throughout the organization.

“Use of an integrated EMR is critical to helping ensure the highest-possible levels of care quality, safety and efficiency. It’s exciting for us as a local county hospital to be among only a handful of prestigious organizations that have reached this significant milestone,” stated William Phillips, UHS vice president and chief information officer.

Phillips noted that the advanced functionality and open design of Eclipsys’ Sunrise Clinical Manager^™ is the centerpiece of the health system’s EMR. “We’ve entered nearly five million electronic orders in Clinical Manager last year alone. And through its integration with our digital imaging and other systems, we’re able to seamlessly manage patient information across our ambulatory and inpatient environments. This helps ensure that patients and clinicians alike benefit from the easy access to the information needed to provide coordinated care and superior outcomes.”

St. Clair Hospital

Pittsburgh’s St. Clair Hospital was featured in a 2007 HIMSS Analytics white paper describing the EMR Adoption Model and highlighting the first six hospitals to achieve Stage 6 rankings. The white paper discussed the premise that the use of more-sophisticated EMR technology yields more-positive outcomes.

“This designation from HIMSS Analytics is further confirmation that our commitment to effectively utilizing the power of advanced technology is delivering improved outcomes to our patients,” said Rich Schaeffer, St. Clair Hospital’s vice president and chief information officer. “In 2006, our physicians endorsed the implementation of physician documentation capabilities in Sunrise Clinical Manager to increase legibility and to build upon our success in using the solution’s patient lists, results, orders and flowsheets. Today, physician documentation — which helped us meet Stage 6 criteria — serves as a vital component of our patient safety and technology strategy.”

In addition to physician documentation, to achieve a validated Stage 6 ranking a healthcare organization must demonstrate its use of computerized physician order entry (CPOE); a pharmacy management system, including automated dispensing cabinets, electronic medication administration record with either barcoding or radio frequency identification (RFID) technology; a clinical decision support system; ancillary department systems; and full R-PACS (radiology and picture archiving and communication systems).

“St. Clair Hospital and University Health System represent a growing list of our clients recognized for their transformative efforts in utilizing clinical information technology to help achieve improved patient-care quality, safety and efficiency outcomes,” said Jay Deady, Eclipsys executive vice president of Client Solutions. “We’re proud to be associated with these healthcare innovators.”

About St. Clair Hospital

The 329-bed St. Clair Hospital is an independent community hospital providing comprehensive, high-quality care to more than 300,000 residents in 20 communities throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania. With more than 2,000 employees, St. Clair is the area’s largest employer and in 2007 — for the sixth consecutive year — St. Clair Hospital was named a “100 Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania” by a statewide coalition of private and public organizations. For details, see www.stclair.org.

About University Health System

University Health System is the public hospital district for Bexar County, Texas, and San Antonio’s only health system routinely recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s Best Hospitals. As the primary teaching hospital for The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, University Hospital is a regional Level I Trauma Center and a leader in Organ Transplantation. A full range of medical services is available at UHS’ community clinics, including the renowned Texas Diabetes Institute. For more information, see www.universityhealthsystem.com.

About HIMSS Analytics

HIMSS Analytics supports improved decision-making for healthcare organizations, HIT companies and consulting firms by delivering high-quality data and analytical expertise. HIMSS Analytics is a wholly owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. For details, see www.himssanalytics.org.

About Eclipsys

Eclipsys is a leading provider of advanced integrated information software, clinical content and professional services that help healthcare organizations improve clinical, financial, operational and client-satisfaction outcomes. For more information, see www.eclipsys.com or email info@eclipsys.com.

Statements in this news release concerning the timing of features and benefits provided by Eclipsys software and services are forward-looking statements and actual results may differ from those projected due to a variety of risks and uncertainties. Implementation and customization of Eclipsys software is complex and time-consuming. Results depend upon a variety of factors and can vary by client. Each client’s circumstances are unique and may include unforeseen issues that make it more difficult than anticipated to implement or derive benefit from software. The success and timeliness of the company’s services will depend at least in part upon client involvement, which can be difficult to control. Eclipsys is required to meet specified performance standards, and the contract can be terminated or its scope reduced under certain circumstances. More information about company risks is available in recent Form 10-Q and 10-K filings made by Eclipsys from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Special attention is directed to the portions of those documents entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Eclipsys Corporation and The Outcomes Company are registered trademarks of Eclipsys Corporation. Sunrise Clinical Manager is a trademark of Eclipsys Corporation. Other product and company names in this news release are or may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.