PICIS UNVEILS SAVENT CLINICAL PERFORMANCE SUITE

Picis, a recognized world leader in critical care and perioperative information systems, unveiled Savent, a revolutionary new suite of Internet and software-based analysis and research tools.

Savent will power perioperative outcomes analysis that converts large volumes of data into meaningful information. Outcomes analysis is used to improve both the quality and efficiency of patient care. The Savent product suite, which will soon be fully functional and available, was showcased at the American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting in San Francisco at booth number 1736 (October 14 - 18).

For the first time, hospitals and anesthesiologists will be able to analyze their practice patterns and benchmark them against the world's largest perioperative data warehouse by using Savent's data discovery and data mining tools, eQual and eBenchmark. Savent maximizes the value of critical care or anesthesia information systems by enabling hospitals to conduct real-time research to identify areas where clinical practice may be improved. Savent tools support research that may lead to better resource allocation, more efficient scheduling and increased cost savings. Savent.net will host an Internet-based community to provide anesthesia outcomes information resources and access to a national perioperative data warehouse.

"Savent is the natural extension of Picis' market-leading care automation product line, CareSuite, which enables anesthesia care providers to automate the entire perioperative process, from pre-op evaluation to intra-operative surgical procedure, right on through to the recovery room," said Todd Cozzens, president and CEO of Picis. "Picis spearheaded the automation of hospital surgical suites with CareSuite, and is now revolutionizing perioperative outcomes improvement with Savent."

Savent combines Picis' clinical and software development expertise with the independence of the National Center for Clinical Outcomes Research (NCCOR). Picis established NCCOR as a not-for-profit foundation to facilitate the aggregation of data from member institutions, including CareSuite's installed customer base of world-renowned medical facilities. NCCOR, through its well respected board of anesthesiologists, will guide the collection of clinically relevant data and safeguard data integrity. NCCOR was launched October 16, at the American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting.

"Historically, data for outcomes analysis has been recorded, gathered and analyzed manually, which limits the volume and resolution of the collected data," said Thomas Leonard, vice president and general manager for Savent. "In contrast, the Picis customer base continuously generates an unparalleled volume of detailed, real-time data. No other vendor has the system architecture and installed customer base required to generate this large, multi-site data set that will be accessible to Savent users."

The product will maintain patient and hospital confidentiality and HIPAA compliance by de-identifying information from the records prior to incorporation into the data warehouse.

The Savent product suite consists of the following intuitive, yet sophisticated, tools:

• eQual - A data warehouse and powerful data analysis tool residing within the hospital that supports detailed analysis of patient care and resource utilization.
• eBenchmark - An extension of Savent's eQual application that will permit users to seamlessly compare their local data to the data contained in the national data warehouse.
• Savent.net - An Internet community designed to provide online information, support and national data warehouse access.

Any institution or individual interested in perioperative outcomes analysis and clinical performance improvement can access Savent.net. Potential users include hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies, clinical research organizations, HMOs, PPOs and insurance companies. Individual users may include anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, surgical services managers, hospital administrators and quality assurance analysts.

Perioperative units are among the fastest growing and most resource- and cost-intensive areas of a hospital. With mounting pressure on healthcare providers to reduce costs, Savent's tools will give facilities the information they need to make informed cost-reducing decisions while improving patient outcomes. Picis' launch of Savent is just the beginning of an effort that will see the expansion of this technology into all areas of the modern health care enterprise.

About Picis

Picis is a world leader in the development and marketing of software and Internet-based critical care and perioperative information solutions. CareSuite automates the flow of clinical data from medical devices and information systems as well as organizes caregiver workflow in the critical care and perioperative setting to improve patient outcomes. Savent, a revolutionary new suite of Internet and software-based knowledge tools that allow users to access a national perioperative data warehouse for advanced analysis and research, was unveiled at the American Society of Anesthesiologists annual meeting on October 14 to 18, 2000. CareSuite is installed in world-renowned medical facilities such as the Mayo Clinic, Saint Luke's-Shawnee Mission Health System, the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Medical Center. Picis, with worldwide headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, has sales and technical support staff throughout North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific. Picis also has distribution partnerships with IDX Systems Corporation, QuadraMed Corporation, and Siemens Medical Systems. Picis is a Microsoft Solution Developer and was selected as a finalist for the Microsoft 2000 Industry Solution Awards for Healthcare. For more information, visit the Picis Web site at www.picis.com.

Contact Picis Inc, Nicole Mullikin, 888-94-PICIS, nicole_mullikin@pikin.com.