HealthCare Partners Medical Group Deploys ClearCube PC Blades as Cornerstone of Innovative Patient Flow System Large Managed Care Organization Improves Care and Protects Patient Privacy Austin, Texas and Los Angeles, Calif - March 28, 2005 - ClearCube Technology, the market leader and pioneer in PC Blade computing, today announced that Los Angeles-based HealthCare Partners Medical Group has deployed the ClearCube PC Blade solution in their primary care physicians' offices throughout LA County. The PC Blade solution was selected as a cornerstone of the organization's innovative "Patient Flow" system, created to combine the highest quality patient care with the most efficient way to deliver that care. PC Blades are the key technology component supporting "Patient Flow," which formalizes the full scope of patient interactions, from initial greeting through the secure and efficient routing of patient data through the medical offices. Today, the PC Blades are at the front desk, physicians' offices and the administrator's office. "Patient Flow has made a big difference, but it requires powerful computing support," said Leo Dittemore, director of technical services, HealthCare Partners Medical Group. "The number one thing we needed was access to Web-based services. However, in our doctors' offices, we have space constraints combined with needs for reliable technical services and high levels of data and physical security. We must combine high quality patient care with smart business, and the ClearCube PC Blades have really helped us do both." The organization has deployed ClearCube C/Ports in more than 20 of its 40 planned medical offices. The PC Blades have replaced standard desktop PCs running a terminal emulator to access IDX Flowcast, HealthCare Partners' mainframe-based patient information application. With space-saving ClearCube PC Blades, front desk personnel now have a Web browser, Microsoft Office and email, all critical services to run the office, manage patients, and conduct day-to-day business with hospitals and major HMOs. The ease of the initial deployment and ongoing support of the PC Blade has been the key for HealthCare Partners. Technology for an entire medical group site is set up in HealthCare Partners' centralized IS facility, and then one person simply installs the rack in that office's communications closet. The team has also realized improved reliability and zero downtime since each shelf has a spare device. "Last year, one person was able to quickly deploy 100 PC blades," said Dittemore. "We also had a traditional PC project underway and needed a team of eight to deploy 500 PCs. Now, that time is better spent on valuable projects that relate to patient care. We had investigated thin clients and other blade solutions, but the ClearCube solution is more reliable and doesn't require the management effort the other technologies demand." Physical and data security are two other big reasons why the PC Blades will make such a good fit at HealthCare Partners. "For example, if one of our Patient Flow offices had a break in," explained Dittemore. "the keyboards, displays and mice might be stolen, but thieves wouldn't be able to find the PC, so no data would be lost. This is critical in terms of patient privacy as well as HIPAA compliance, and goes well beyond the hard cost of replacing a PC. In such a case, we could show up the next day with displays, keyboards and mice and the office would be back up within a couple of hours." "PC Blades are an ideal fit for the healthcare industry, with its unique combination of physical space constraints and heightened privacy and security concerns," said Carl Boisvert, president and CEO of ClearCube. "It's rewarding to work with a large, progressive organization such as HealthCare Partners who can derive benefits from their current ClearCube deployment while factoring the technology into their future patient care, business and technology roadmaps." In addition to completing the deployment of the ClearCube solution throughout the LA county clinics, HealthCare Partners is evaluating the PC Blades for integration into a sophisticated Clinical Information System to deliver patient information through to the exam room. Profiles can be moved onto the remote ClearCube Blade so they are available in the right exam room as the doctor walks between patients, and will follow the patient from room to room as required. About ClearCube Technology For more information, visit www.clearcube.com .
ClearCube Press Contacts: Maureen Robusto
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