Med-E-Systems Announces National Clinical E-Mail Network Dedicated to Health Care Professionals
TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — February 13, 1995 — Med-E-Systems today announced the creation of Med-E-Mail(TM), a national electronic mail (e-mail) service dedicated to health care professionals. With Med-E-Mail, physicians nationwide can use desktop computers or personal digital assistants (PDAs) to exchange messages with colleagues over an electronic network. System users are assured a broad and immediate communication network, because the Med-E-Mail user base includes the 50,000 members of Physicians' Online, the nation's largest and fastest growing interactive information service for physicians. Increasing numbers of physicians are already using PDAs for applications such as calendars, address books, spreadsheets and word-processing. Adding wireless e-mail capabilities to these devices allows physicians to send and receive messages when they are away from their desks – on rounds, in the examining room, or out of their offices.
"Mobile physicians will now have the capability to communicate with their colleagues and staff while seeing patients, rather than waiting to return to their desks," said Jonathan Edelson, M.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Med-E-Systems. "Using Med-E-Mail, physicians can save time and improve the quality of care by sending timely messages such as information requests, patient status updates, appointment scheduling, and referral notification." Med-E-Mail will be available in April for PDA use. The first hardware platforms available will be the Apple Newton using Metricom wireless service (for groups of 30 or more users) and the Motorola Marco, which supports the ARDIS wireless network (for individuals and smaller groups). Availability will follow shortly for other PDA hardware, such as the Newton for use with the ETE Communicator (to support the RAM wireless network) and Motorola's Envoy.
Med-E-Systems plans to add a two-way paging capability (Med-E-Page(TM)) as the hardware to support it becomes available.
Additional Clinical Wireless Applications Med-E-Mail is one of a suite of applications Med-E-Systems has developed for use by physicians equipped with PDAs. The company offers a clinical information network service, called Med-E-Practice(TM), which allows physicians to store, retrieve and share medical data and managed-care-plan-specific clinical guidelines through PDAs using wireless and wireline communications links. The system enables physicians to perform interactive patient encounter management, patient referral management, prescription drug management and laboratory data management, as well as e-mail. By providing critical medical information to physicians as (and, not after) they are making diagnostic or treatment decisions, Med-E-Practice can help avoid redundant, unnecessary, inappropriate and/or cost-ineffective care. As a result, the system can potentially save 15 percent of typical per patient costs. By these measures and by encouraging compliance with best medical practices, Med-E-Practice can also dramatically improve the quality of clinical care.
Med-E-Systems Privately held Med-E-Systems Corporation is based in Tarrytown, N.Y., and operates its Technology Center in Chicago. Med-E-Systems' largest shareholder is Colorado-based INVESCO Funds Group. Med-E-Systems was founded by physicians to meet the growing demand for integration and cost-quality management of health care delivery. In addition to the Med-E-Practice system, the company offers custom systems integration and application development services to the health care industry.
Physicians' Online Physicians' Online, Inc., a privately held company located in Tarrytown, N.Y., offers a comprehensive national online medical reference information service available free to physicians. The company's goal is to facilitate communication among physicians everywhere and to advance the exchange of knowledge throughout the medical community.
Med-E-Mail, Med-E-Practice, and Med-E-Page are trademarks of Med-E-Systems Corporation.
CONTACT:
Med-E-Systems Corporation
Gregg Fraley, 312/443-9301