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Industry Watch

deals & initiatives

July 1997 - Healthcare Informatics

HEALTHCARE INFORMATION HUB
The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), American College of Physician Executives (ACPE), American Hospital Association (AHA) and Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) collaboratively formed the National Information Center for Health Services Administration. The new center will provide access to healthcare administration-oriented books, journals, newsletters and electronic media, and will operate in conjunction with the AHA's Resource Center in Chicago.

HL7 RELEASES 2.3
Healthcare standards organization Health Level Seven (HL7) announced availability of the Version 2.3 standard for information system compatibility. It is the first release since Version 2.2 was published in December, 1994. Primary to Version 2.3 are message standards that address managed care situations.

CONSULTING FIRM ADDS IT PRACTICE
Atlanta-based consulting firm Kurt Salmon Associates completed the purchase of Health Care Management Counselors (HMC), New York City, an information technology consulting company.

AWG GROWS
Ten companies, including HBO & Company, Atlanta, and Sunquest Information Systems, Tucson, Ariz., signed on as new "core members" of Hewlett-Packard's Andover Working Group (AWG). The AWG was launched in 1996 to promote plug-and-play compatibility between healthcare information systems based on the HL7 standard. Core members provide the AWG with at least one full-time developer to the effort (see "AWG Chooses Data Standards," Healthcare Informatics, April '97). Other companies joining AWG as core members are KPMG Peat Marwick; Lockheed Martin Communications Systems; Medical Information Management Systems; MedVision, Inc.; Merge Technologies, Inc.; MicroScript Corp.; MULTUM Information Services, Inc.; and Zymed, Inc. AWG now comprises 24 core members and 200 supporting members.

SAIC, PICIS REACH AGREEMENT
SAIC, San Diego, and Picis, Inc., Seattle, have entered a five-year agreement in which SAIC will install and support Picis' CareSuite '97 point-of-care critical and surgery-related care applications as part of systems integration services from SAIC's Applied Technology Group.

SUPERIOR VENTURES OUT
Superior Consultant Company, Inc., Southfield, Mich., a subsidiary of Superior Consultant Holdings Corp., formed its own wholly-owned subsidiary, Superior Venture Partners, Inc. The new company will partner with Vantage Healthcare Network--a seven-hospital organization in northwestern Pennsylvania--for outsourcing and consulting services. The initiative, called Vantage Information Services, will provide the services to Vantage-owned facilities and other regional healthcare entities. The two companies are also exploring options for developing a private telephone company for regional healthcare providers.

PRACTICE AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT CONVERGE
Physician practice management company Advanced Health Corp., Tarrytown, N.Y., has invested in disease management software firm Caresoft, Mountain View, Calif. The two will enter a licensing agreement that will integrate Caresoft applications with software from Advanced Health subsidiary Advanced Health Med-E-Systems. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

PROFESSIONAL INVESTMENT
Start-up healthcare IT professional services company MC Informatics, Fountain Valley, Calif., announced it has acquired JSS Healthcare, Kailua, Hawaii. The investment is designed to expand MC Informatics information management, outsourcing and consulting services.

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