The University of Pennsylvania Health System Selects TheraDoc® to Monitor Infection Control
Real-Time Technology Enables HAI Reporting - and Prevention
SALT LAKE CITY, February 5, 2007 – The University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) has selected active infection surveillance and real-time injury detection and prevention systems provided by TheraDoc® Inc.
UPHS will also use TheraDoc to evaluate, enhance and monitor the optimization of antibiotic usage patterns. Given these capabilities, UPHS infectious diseases physicians are planning academic research projects through which they will evaluate the clinical interventions facilitated over time by TheraDoc. As an objective, the researchers plan to measure the impact of real-time interventions on the emergence and persistence of antimicrobial-resistant organisms.
Beyond helping UPHS to enhance its response to HAIs and its antimicrobial stewardship capabilities, TheraDoc will continuously monitor electronic patient records to identify infections in real-time. Concurrently, it will deliver the clinical data and relevant patient information that will assist UPHS clinicians in reducing and preventing healthcare-acquired infections.
To support the research projects, enable proactive, real-time infection management and prevention, and streamline internal and external infection rate reporting, TheraDoc will integrate its Expert System Platform® and Infection Control AssistantTM on-site with the healthcare information systems at UPHS to leverage existing data assets.
Further enhancements will result as TheraDoc implements additional components of its injury detection and prevention systems, including the Antibiotic Assistant®, ADE Assistant® and Clinical Alerts AssistantTM. These knowledge modules will help UPHS clinicians with their clinical decision-making and further enhance antimicrobial stewardship and management.
In addition, TheraDoc will assist clinicians in identifying adverse drug events by rapidly identifying intervention opportunities for patients at risk, notifying clinicians in real-time and delivering critical data via e-mail, handheld or pager.
Stan Pestotnik, TheraDoc president and CEO, said, "We are privileged to implement our technology to further improve patient safety measures at the three hospitals that comprise the University of Pennsylvania Health System that are consistently ranked among the best in the nation." He further stated, "TheraDoc has a non-negotiable adherence to healthcare industry standards. It is interesting to note that our software is fully compliant with the comprehensive procurement guidelines established by UPHS and the State of Pennsylvania."
It takes more than just reporting numbers to reduce infection rates and increase the quality and safety of care for current and future patients. With TheraDoc software, clinicians will be well equipped to implement multiple quality improvement initiatives throughout the UPHS.
About The University of Pennsylvania Health System
Created in 1993, the 1,554-bed University of Pennsylvania Health System includes three hospitals, all of which have received numerous national patient-care honors [Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center]; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multi-specialty satellite facilities; and home care and hospice.
About TheraDoc
TheraDoc is a clinical informatics company dedicated to improving the quality, efficiency and safety of patient care through enhanced clinical decision making. It provides innovative, best-in-class solutions that improve clinical and financial outcomes at a range of provider and payer organizations, including some of the most-respected healthcare institutions in the country. With clinical transparency, TheraDoc's technologies seamlessly place mission-critical knowledge at the clinician's fingertips, helping them to confidently manage multiple processes of care across multiple conditions and diseases. The company's strict adherence to medical informatics standards enables connectivity and interoperability with any hospital's disparate health information systems.
Founded in 1999, TheraDoc designs, develops and supports a suite of clinical decisions support technologies utilizing inference engines that enable its real-time solutions. TheraDoc's founders and core medical informatics team are internationally recognized for their pioneering and continuing work in medical expert systems. Their experience in clinical decision support design and development spans two decades. On the Net: www.theradoc.com.
