Wheeling Hospital Selects Eclipsys in Pursuit of Clinical and Operational Excellence

As part of a major information technology initiative designed to enhance clinical and operational excellence, Wheeling Hospital (Wheeling), located in Wheeling, WV, has selected Eclipsys’ Sunrise Enterprise™ suite of solutions. Under terms of the multi-phase agreement, Wheeling will deploy a combination of Eclipsys’ integrated suite of clinical solutions to establish an enterprise-wide electronic health record (EHR), along with the company’s performance management and revenue cycle applications. Once complete, the technology initiative will create a completely digital healthcare environment in support of enhanced direct patient-care related activities while achieving rapid and sustainable improvements in operational efficiency, clinical outcomes and financial performance.

In an effort to qualify for any provision benefits from the recently passed federal economic stimulus package, plans call for Wheeling to utilize Eclipsys’ "speed to value” implementation approach to accelerate their activation and establish an EHR system that is fully operational with broad utilization prior to October 2010, when incentives for hospitals take effect. Eclipsys’ proven, repeatable implementation method is based on hundreds of successful on-time, on-budget implementations and decades of experience with a broad range of hospital and health systems.

"The plan to adopt Eclipsys software across all of our facilities solidifies Wheeling Hospital’s ongoing commitment to sustaining high-quality patient care,” said Ronald Violi, chief executive officer of Wheeling Hospital. "We already have some of the most advanced systems in the region, but this initiative will significantly upgrade and standardize our technology foundation and positions us to become a regional, if not national, technology showcase. Eclipsys is a partner that provides the breadth and scope of solutions that offer precision integration and service levels we were seeking to meet our operational and quality of care goals.”

Enhanced Clinical Decision Support, Medication Safety

To achieve its clinical goals, Wheeling will deploy Eclipsys’ Sunrise Acute Care™, Sunrise Pharmacy™ Sunrise, Emergency Care™ and Sunrise Ambulatory Care™ solutions for clinical decision support, medication safety and interdisciplinary clinical documentation. In combination, these solutions will create a single, secure EHR that will flow across all areas of Wheeling’s delivery complex, including emergency rooms, outpatient centers and Belmont Community Hospital (BCH), a division of Wheeling Hospital and a community leader in ophthalmic procedures. Clinicians of all disciplines will gain instant, real-time access to the same up-to-date patient information, including test results, encounter notes and medications administered to support better planning, evaluation and coordination through every step of the patient’s visit. In addition, the integrated pharmacy information system will enable pharmacists to quickly and easily review and verify physician orders, while Eclipsys’ mediation safety solution, Knowledge-Based Medication Administration™, will help to ensure the right patient receives the right medication via a handheld device caregivers will use to scan medication bar codes at the bedside.

"These systems will enable us to focus even more on the care and healing of our patients, who are really our guests,” said David Rapp, chief information officer of Wheeling Hospital. "We already have some of the most advanced systems in the region, and Eclipsys will tie them all together and eliminate mountains of inefficient paper shuffling. From the moment our patients reach our front door at the Emergency Department or our physician offices, we will be utilizing this technology to provide even more effective and efficient care.”

Further value will be gained from Eclipsys’ computerized physician order entry solution (CPOE), the most widely adopted CPOE system in the industry. The application will aid physicians and other clinicians with advanced clinical decision support by offering evidence-based order sets and frequently used protocols to help quickly and accurately enter even the most complex medical orders.

Dr. Dennis Niess, Wheeling Hospital medical director, said, "The technology also will allow our doctors to see and track trends during a visit or between visits to help us better recognize possible patient problems before they occur.”

Integrated Performance Management, Operational Efficiency and Revenue Cycle

Other new technologies include Eclipsys’ performance management solution, Sunrise EPSi™. This advanced tool will help Wheeling management of all levels to streamline and automate manual processes required to gather, analyze and display in near-real time information related to regulatory compliance, cost-efficiency and resource utilization. In a later phase, Eclipsys’ revenue cycle solution, Sunrise Access Manager™, along with Sunrise Record Manager™, will be deployed in administrative areas to support Wheeling in more-effectively managing the business aspects of the healthcare organization. By automating various aspects of patient billing and scheduling, the hospital expects to improve processes and reduce administrative expenses, such as storing paper-based patient information.

Plans for a Community EHR

Wheeling also plans to leverage its EHR technology infrastructure to help speed the adoption of EHRs across its community service area. It will offer to local participating physicians needed EHR software, along with maintenance and technology support. This ambulatory initiative will provide all caregivers in the community an opportunity to gain a shared view of information related to the patient’s previous visits in support of enhanced patient experiences and improved care coordination.

"Eclipsys offers comprehensive and integrated solution suites that help hospitals produce measurable improvements in care quality, as well as financial and analytics tools to drive significant performance improvement,” said Jay Deady, Eclipsys executive vice president of Client Solutions. "We are very pleased to support Wheeling Hospital in its plans for accelerated deployment to help it meet the criteria in the stimulus package and realize faster time to value. Enabling clinical staff to make the best decisions for patients while they are still in the hospital sets the stage for the best possible care outcomes. We also look forward to working with Wheeling as they leverage our market-leading analytics solutions throughout their system to stay ahead of the curve in what is an increasingly challenging and complex healthcare business environment.”

About Wheeling

With two hospitals, two clinics, four outpatient centers, a continuous care center and wellness center, Wheeling Hospital provides premium health care to residents of the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and Eastern Ohio. From labor and delivery to specialized rehabilitation, the hospital and its affiliates have an excellent reputation for treating patients of all ages. For more information, see www.wheelinghospital.org.

About Eclipsys

Eclipsys is a leading provider of advanced integrated clinical, revenue cycle and performance management software, clinical content and professional services that help healthcare organizations improve clinical, financial and operational outcomes. For more information, see www.eclipsys.com or email info@eclipsys.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this news release concerning the timing of implementation and features and benefits provided by Eclipsys software, evidence-based content and implementation and remote hosting services are forward-looking statements and actual results may differ from those projected due to a variety of risks and uncertainties. Implementation and customization of Eclipsys software is complex and time-consuming. Results depend upon a variety of factors and can vary by client. Each client’s circumstances are unique and may include unforeseen issues that make it more difficult than anticipated to implement or derive benefit from Eclipsys software or services. The success and timeliness of the company’s services will depend at least in part upon client involvement, which can be difficult to control. Eclipsys is required to meet specified performance standards, and the contract can be terminated or its scope reduced under certain circumstances. More information about company risks is available in recent Form 10-Q and 10-K filings made by Eclipsys from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Special attention is directed to the portions of those documents entitled "Risk Factors” and "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Eclipsys Corporation and The Outcomes Company are registered trademarks of Eclipsys Corporation. Sunrise Enterprise, Sunrise Acute Care, Sunrise Pharmacy, Sunrise Emergency Care, Sunrise Ambulatory Care, Knowledge-Based Medication Administration, Sunrise Access Manager, Sunrise Record Manager and Sunrise EPSi are trademarks of Eclipsys Corporation. Other product and company names in this news release are or may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.