Press Release

LYNX Medical Systems and The Health Management Academy Announce Strategic Research Project to Benchmark ED Practices

Study to Provide Critical Quality, Compliance and Financial Benchmarks to Healthcare Executives

July 9, 2008—Bellevue, WA and Alexandria, VA—LYNX Medical Systems, a Picis company, and The Health Management Academy (The Academy), today jointly announced their collaboration on an important research project to identify the unique and powerful impact of emergency department (ED) services on hospitals and health systems. The survey will be administered to the approximately 90 multi-hospital systems represented by The Academy executive members, who together generate more than 50 percent of total hospital net patient revenue in the United States. The survey will focus on critical issues in the ED, including clinical alignment, contracting and staffing, as well as and the measurement of appropriate clinical, financial and quality outcomes, and patient satisfaction.

The study is designed to provide measureable benchmarks to healthcare executives to help support decisions related to improving the quality of patient care and the financial health of their EDs. The study is believed to be the largest and most comprehensive study to date focused on the downstream effects that the ED has on overall hospital patient quality and revenue.

“With more than 55 percent of hospital admissions entering through the emergency department, ED services have a major impact on safety, quality and financial metrics,” said Jeff Wajda, D.O., F.A.C.E.P., vice president of clinical services, LYNX Medical Systems and member of the research team. “Moreover, this volume of inpatient admissions makes the ED a key strategic component of hospital operations.”

As the only vendor to provide a fully-integrated clinical and financial solution for the ED, Picis offers a exceptional perspective and understanding of the “downstream” patient care and the financial impact of the ED on hospitals and health systems. By supporting The Academy’s research in this area, the company will play a pivotal role in providing concrete evidence to healthcare executives that will help them identify best practices in staffing, physician contracting, using observation resources and capturing appropriate data. The results of this research project are expected to be available late in 2008. Click here to request a copy of the research results when published or visit http://lynxmed.com/registration.aspx.

About Health Management Academy
The Health Management Academy (The Academy) was founded in 1998 to provide an open environment for the senior executives of the country’s largest health systems and corporations to exchange best practices, focused on increasing the quality and efficiency of care. The Academy is an accredited CE provider and its strategy includes member-driven executive study groups, fellowship programs, benchmarking studies, workshops and publications.

About LYNX Medical Systems, Inc.
LYNX Medical Systems, Inc., a Picis company, drives value in emergency medicine through industry leading software and services that promote financial health and compliance. LYNX revenue management solutions help health systems and hospitals improve Emergency Department (ED) clinical documentation, improve coding compliance, and promote accurate and consistent code assignment for appropriate reimbursement. LYNX clients maintain a consistent, documented and repeatable return on investment. Currently, LYNX serves more than 400 healthcare organizations, representing more than 18 million annual encounters.

About Picis
Picis is a global provider of innovative information solutions that enable rapid and sustained delivery of clinical, financial and operational results in the acute care areas of the hospital. These high-acuity areas include the emergency department, operating and recovery rooms, and intensive care units. Picis offers the most advanced suite of integrated products focused on these life-critical areas of the hospital where the patients are the most vulnerable, the care process is the most complex and an increasing majority of hospital costs and potential revenue are concentrated. Headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts, Picis has licensed systems for use in more than 1,700 hospitals in 19 countries. More information is available at www.picis.com.