HP Introduces New Healthcare Solutions to Better Manage Patient Information

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- HP introduced two solutions that help healthcare organizations efficiently and cost-effectively access and manage patient information in order to improve quality of care.

The HP Medical Archiving Solution and the HP Forms Automation System 1.2 will be showcased at HP booth 4436 at the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society Annual Conference, held Feb. 14-17 in Dallas.

Designed for radiology practices within diagnostic imaging centers, clinics and hospitals, the HP Medical Archiving Solution provides affordable long-term storage of patient studies regardless of size. Physicians can then securely and simultaneously access this vital information in order to collaborate across departments and medical facilities.

The HP Forms Automation System 1.2 is digital pen and paper technology, providing users the simplicity of a traditional pen and paper with the functionality and speed of the Internet.

Filling the Need for Efficient Data Management
The HP Medical Archiving Solution fills a critical gap for healthcare organizations dealing with the challenges of growing volumes of image data. Regardless of the source -- CT Scan, MRI, mammogram, digital X-rays or picture archiving and communications systems (PACS) -- the solution provides the flexibility to manage data distributed across tiers of storage and the confidence that comes with continuous, proactive data checking for unsurpassed data integrity. Medical professionals can then rapidly access the patient studies, using familiar terms such as image type or patient information, via streaming technology.

Scaleable without downtime to greater than 2 petabytes -- the equivalent of more than 2,000 terabytes of stored data -- the solution also allows for a full view of a patient's medical history, making it easier to treat patients quickly, affordably and in a more reliable way.

The solution stores data on a high-availability system based on industry-standard HP ProLiant servers, HP StorageWorks Modular Smart Arrays and x86 processors and powered by Bycast's StorageGRID™ software. Users are able to set policies to control the storage devices and media used to coincide with organizational needs.

The HP Medical Archiving Solution relies on open standards for interoperability and is offered with technology refreshes and services for 24x7 support. The solution interfaces with existing single and multi-PACS applications, while also supporting the archiving requirements of pre-PACS environments.

Allowing Rapid Access to Integrated Information
The HP Medical Archiving Solution gives physicians the ability to create a single repository for secure PACS applications. Single hospitals, imaging clinics or large hospital systems can share their infrastructure to house image types used in different PACS applications.

Users can integrate text-based information from health information systems, such as patient records and insurance data, into their solution and migrate images from other vendor PACS to one centralized, consolidated, long-term storage solution. Whenever health professionals access the provider's network, they can securely view the images, even from the Internet.

The HP Medical Archiving Solution also helps hospitals and other healthcare organizations comply with regulatory requirements guiding the storage, transmission and protection of patient data. It uses a security model that is compliant with the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which regulates the handling of patient information and has mandated its data security requirement by April 2005.

Medical Imaging's Future
The HP Medical Archiving Solution is expected to be commercially available later this month in North America and Europe. Deployment racks are factory-built configurations that support starter configurations of five, 10 and 20 terabytes of compressed and protected data. The solution, consisting of hardware, software and services, can be implemented to align with the physical facilities within a healthcare organization and is expected to be sold for two to four cents per megabyte.(1)

Linking Physical and Digital Patient Worlds
The HP Forms Automation System (FAS) 1.2 eliminates the need for cumbersome processes such as forms scanning and manual data re-keying.

HP FAS allows healthcare professionals to print forms on demand and collect patient data using standard paper and an HP Digital Pen (used just like a ballpoint pen), which automatically transmits medical records to a central electronic medical record (EMR) system. The HP FAS reduces transaction costs up to three or four times the average cost of $1.25 per form while improving the quality of patient care by reducing administrative tasks of healthcare professionals.

Updates to the FAS 1.2 include:
-- A more efficient way for healthcare professionals to transform handwriting to digital data with the new HP Handwriting Recognition Engine;

-- Better connectivity to EMR systems with customized XML output schemes, decreasing upfront development cost and time investment;

-- Faster form design and deployment, allowing field attributes import and automated forms printing;

The HP Forms Automation System 1.2 is expected to be available later this month.

About HP
HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing.
(1) Actual prices may vary.

Source: Business Wire