Oracle introduces comprehensive information platform, service infrastructure for healthcare industry

Oracle Corporation, the world`s largest enterprise software company, today announced the availability of the Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base (HTB), a comprehensive data repository and service infrastructure that will enable healthcare organizations to integrate disparate systems and create a central repository for patient information and clinical services.

Oracle will demonstrate the Healthcare Transaction Base at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference, 10 to 13 February, in San Diego, California.

The new Oracle healthcare platform - which combines a standards-based information model, data repository and business process functionality - is designed to help streamline the development, integration and operation of healthcare applications for improved information quality, collaborative decision-making capabilities and a more efficient base for operations.

"Healthcare information technology (IT) teams are continually challenged to expand analytic and reporting capabilities to support their organisations` business and clinical objectives," according to Paul Peabody, vice-president and chief information officer, Beaumont Hospitals. The Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base addresses this growing issue. It allows users to access and leverage comprehensive clinical, administrative and financial information within the central repository to track and improve outcomes and efficiencies across the healthcare continuum.

The Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base enables organisations to:

* Provide a comprehensive community view of a patient`s record across organizational boundaries, which fosters more efficient care, reduces errors and supports the outcomes research required for quality improvement;

* Derive optimal value from their existing systems, minimising the need for expansive new information technology investment;

* Manage business transactions consistently in the patient care process, increasing the efficiency, quality and competitive edge of the healthcare organisation;

* Maximise clinical data reuse and portability through the use of standards, allowing for seamless integration between healthcare information systems; and

* Access and analyse vital clinical, administrative and financial information to understand and improve outcomes and efficiencies.

"Oracle has made a commitment to developing technology that improves not only the operating efficiency of healthcare organisations, but the quality of patient care as well. The introduction of the Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base marks a major milestone in our efforts to fulfil that commitment," said John Wookey, senior vice-president, Application Development, Oracle Corporation. "Working with a diverse team of vendor and customer partners, we have developed a solution that enables organisations to optimise their existing technology investment to address the two most pressing issues in healthcare today - improving care and managing costs."

Vendor, customer and partner involvement have been integral to the development of the Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base. In 2001, Oracle launched the Oracle Healthcare Partner Initiative, a program that provides benefits for leading independent software vendors (ISVs) and systems integrators that are interested in developing applications on the Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base. Oracle has partnered with technology partners worldwide to develop healthcare administrative and clinical applications.

Two recent additions to the Oracle Healthcare Partner Initiative include Per-Se Technologies, a global leader in delivering integrated financial and clinical software solutions; and Orion Systems International, a leading provider of information access and interfacing technologies for the healthcare market. Oracle continues to work to expand its base of development partners building on the Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base.

In addition to its technology partner initiative, Oracle created a Customer Advisory Board to provide "hands-on" guidance in the development and implementation of the Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base. Its membership encompasses leading healthcare delivery organizations in North America and Europe, including Atlantic Health Sciences Corp., the largest multi-facility hospital corporation in New Brunswick, Canada; Beaumont Hospitals, of Royal Oak, Michigan, a healthcare system that encompasses a large teaching hospital, an acute care hospital, primary and specialty care clinics, and several nursing home centres; Capital Health Authority, one of Alberta Canada`s largest integrated academic health regions; Cardiff and Vale National Health Service Trust in Cardiff, Wales, one of the largest healthcare providers in the UK; The Methodist Hospital in Houston, a preeminent non-profit healthcare provider and the primary teaching hospital for Baylor College of Medicine; and UCSF Medical Centre, the primary teaching enterprise for the University of California, San Francisco.

"The growing complexity of healthcare systems worldwide drives the need for a central information repository that spans the entire healthcare organisation," said Allaudin Merali, Chief Financial Officer, Capital Health. "Oracle and the Oracle Healthcare Transaction Base answer this call with a standards-based model that enables the creation of a comprehensive electronic patient record and allows healthcare organisations to support clinical, administrative and financial processes directly from the platform for improved efficiency and care."