TheraDoc's Clinical Decision Support Software Live At VA Salt Lake City Health Care System

Clinical use of TheraDoc's Infection Control Assistant Began on April 15, 2005

SALT LAKE CITY, May 17, 2005 – TheraDoc^®, Inc. (www.theradoc.com), a medical informatics company, is implementing its expert clinical decision-support software at the VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System (VA Salt Lake City HCS). TheraDoc's Infection Control Assistant (ICA) software went live on April 15, 2005. The Infection Control Assistant gives infection control practitioners the time and opportunity to quickly intervene and educate-instead of spending time gathering data they need to identify, quantify and control infectious outbreaks. TheraDoc's capabilities also provide a cost-effective way of complying with the latest infection control guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).

According to a 2004 report by Nicholas Graves, M.D., in the CDC's Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, the effect of infectious diseases is one of the largest cost drivers in U.S. hospitals with annual economic costs of $6.7 billion (in 2002 dollars). Dennis S. O'Leary, M.D., JCAHO's president last year alerted hospitals to the need for change, "In the current health care environment where every expense must be defended, the large price tag of reacting to infections instead of preventing them is indefensible." (Meeting JCAHO's Infection Control Requirements, June 2004, P. 4)

TheraDoc's ICA features integrated monitoring and data collection capabilities that support infection control initiatives-in real-time. Scott Walker, vice president, strategic development at TheraDoc, explained, "Traditional manual reviews and other systems use retrospective methods, which provide only a view of the past. The ICA provides infection control practitioners with the ability to identify emerging trends, so they can intervene concurrently to avoid and mitigate infections, their effects and attendant costs." DSS, Inc., TheraDoc's integration partner for the Department of Veterans Affairs' hospitals, has 800+ implementations within the VA's hospitals and clinics nationwide. Both companies are committed to delivering technology that will enhance clinicians' abilities to consistently meet patient safety and business objectives.

Aldo Tinoco, TheraDoc's implementation project manager for the VA Salt Lake City HCS, explains the value of partnering with DSS. "Our collective clinical and technical expertise ensures interoperability between VistA and TheraDoc's software," he noted. "As users of advanced healthcare technology, the VA is embracing industry healthcare data standards and utilizing integrated systems to effectively improve patient care and quality outcome initiatives. These standards and TheraDoc's partnership with DSS have created a model for further implementations."

TheraDoc provides expert clinical decision-support technology designed to improve clinical performance, reduce patient harm, increase productivity and lower healthcare costs by enhancing clinical decision-making. VA facilities can currently license TheraDoc's Expert System Platform and the following Knowledge Modules: "

• Antibiotic Assistant™ — interprets patient records, intelligently alerts clinicians and recommends patient-specific treatment options based on current medical guidelines and evidence.


• Infection Control Assistant™ — provides information critical to enabling the identification, quantification and control of community-acquired, healthcare-associated and nosocomial infections—in real-time.


• Intervention Assistant™ — provides real-time integrated clinical management tools for pharmacists that facilitate workflow management, clinical interventions and intervention documentation. Documentation and reporting include cost, outcome, intervention acceptance, follow-up status, and productivity measurement.


• ADE Assistant™ — enables hospitals to create a comprehensive strategy to define problems and identify solutions. It detects, evaluates, characterizes, documents, reports and reduces adverse drug events through continual surveillance.


• Clinical Alerts Assistant™ — delivers updated, relevant patient data-as "actionable" information supported by evidence-based knowledge—via intelligent alerts and reminders.

About Document Storage Systems
Document Storage Systems, Inc., (DSS, inc.) has been developing exclusively for the VHA for over 12 years and has in excess of 800 VHA VistA/CPRS integrated installations. Our core competency is software integration for the Veterans Administration's VistA/CPRS System. DSS, inc. specializes in developing VistA/CPRS integrated VHA Electronic Medical Record and Administrative programs, as well as co-developing VistA/CPRS interfaces with Commercial Software (COTS) Vendors/Partners. Services include Software Consultation, Development, Project Management, Integration, Sales & Marketing, Installation, Training, and Technical Support geared to VistA.

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.