iSOFT launches LORENZO-The next generation software solution for healthcare organisations

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IBA Health Group Limited Australia's largest listed health information technology company, today announced the global launch of LORENZO, the next generation software solution for healthcare organisations. LORENZO is a unique solution that will revolutionise the way healthcare is delivered around the individual.

IBA Health Group Limited Australia's largest listed health information technology company, today announced the global launch of LORENZO, the next generation software solution for healthcare organisations. LORENZO is a unique solution that will revolutionise the way healthcare is delivered around the individual.

LORENZO is a key value element of IBA’s growth strategy. LORENZO was first conceived in 2003 and was chosen in 2004 as the key solution for the $30 billion UK National Programme for IT in respect of over 60% of the English market.Following several years of development and the successful testing in early adopter sites, in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe, LORENZO is now ready to be launched.

Built on a service oriented architecture (SOA), LORENZO enables healthcare providers to manage their processes whilst at the same time giving secure authorised access to patient information to those who need it, anywhere and at any time. The availability of the health record across all boundaries is a major breakthrough in the delivery of healthcare.

One of the major features of LORENZO is that it incorporates iSOFT’s many years of clinical expertise in several thousand care activities[1], designed to support clinical decisions, improved patient safety and evidence-based medical practice. These care activities within LORENZO, with its plug and play capability, are designed to maximise the retention of existing healthcare IT investments, thereby avoiding the need for a “big bang” costly and risky implementation often associated with other systems.

“LORENZO breaks down the complexities and barriers to critical clinical decision support by helping healthcare professionals make faster, better informed decisions and making patient information available to all those who need access,” said Gary Cohen, IBA’s Executive Chairman and CEO.

LORENZO sets the stage to transform the delivery of healthcare around the world by providing the a foundation upon which to build and deliver new generations of highly configurable, high quality, cost-effective, connected healthcare services,” added Gary Cohen.

LORENZO is highly scalable and proven and is being rolled out to manage over 30 million patient records aspart of the world’s largest civilian IT project—the $30 billion National Programme for IT for the UK’s National Health Service.

LORENZO set to transform healthcare delivery as we know it

LORENZO is designed to adapt to existing healthcare IT systems for all points of need—from hospital to community and clinic settings. Customised for each customer’s specific needs, it also provides the flexibility to quickly respond to changing operational, legal or business requirements.

LORENZO provides a unique patient experience. Indeed, it puts the patient at the centre of their healthcare journey by managing and orchestrating the information around them, at the same time protecting the patient’s unique identity through this journey. Because information follows the individual from practitioner to practitioner, they do not need to keep repeating their health history with each new appointment. In addition, in the event that mistakes are made, the system will help provide guidance or alerts—making the delivery of healthcare safer.

“This is particularly relevant in today’s institution-centric healthcare environment in which individuals are dependent on ‘strangers’ for some of the most crucial and intimate moments of their lives,” added Gary Cohen. “Stated simply, LORENZO uniquely transforms healthcare from being institutional based and systems-centric to being designed around the patient, enabling the many different types of healthcare organisations around the world to radically improve and personalise the delivery of healthcare services to their citizens.”

Successful trials of LORENZO already underway in Europe and around the world

Today’s announcement follows successful LORENZO trials at early adopter sites in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe.

In the United Kingdom, as part of England’s National Programme for Health IT, LORENZO will be deployed to over 60 per cent of all National Health Service hospitals in England. To date, iSOFT has installed LORENZO in South Birmingham Primary Care Trust and at the University Hospital of Morecambe Bay in Lancashire. Morecambe Bay has recently piloted the new LORENZO electronic patient record system in a clinical environment, marking an important strategic milestone in the rollout under the NHS national programme.

In late September, ehealth Insider magazine reported that the NHS Connecting for Health’s clinical lead for hospital doctors, Dr Robert Pitcher, predicted, “the future seems to be heading towards a more web-based service and as things develop it could lead to LORENZO being used more”.

Tony Halsall, Chief Executive of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust (UHMBT), said in a recent press release regarding the implementation of LORENZO in Morecambe Bay Hospital: "We have worked very hard for ten months including a period of robust system testing. We are now confident that LORENZO is ready to be properly trialled in a live clinical setting. As with any new IT software, the development process is on-going and continual assessment is very much part of the rollout. The benefits this system could bring to patients are immense in terms of information sharing between health professionals. UHMBT is delighted to be at the forefront of this ground breaking initiative.”

Managers involved in the Morecambe Bay project say its attraction is that it promises to deliver an electronic patient record that can work across the whole health community – and that this could not be achieved using other solutions.

Elsewhere in Europe, iSOFT is collaborating with the University Hospital Aachen in Germany to introduce a full electronic health record solution with interoperability to referring clinicians in the surrounding community. Aachen is improving the quality of care for its patients by providing an integrated care environment.

According to industry analysts, Frost & Sullivan, the global market for IT healthcare software and services is expected to increase by 11 percent CAGR between 2005 and 2010—to US $36.7 billion (€28.7 billion).

Gary Cohen
Executive Chairman & CEO
IBA Health Group Limited
Phone: +61 2 8251 6700
Email: gary.cohen@ibahealth.com

Martin Deda
Group Finance Director
IBA Health Group Limited
Phone: +61 2 8251 6700
Email: martin.deda@ibahealth.com