06 Apr Microsoft introduces Amalga UIS 2009
CHICAGO: Microsoft announced today at HIMSS 09, the Amalga Unified Intelligence System (UIS) 2009, the next generation release of the enterprise data aggregation platform that enables hospitals to unlock patient data stored in a wide range of systems and make it easily accessible to every authorized member of the team inside and beyond the hospital – including the patient – to help them drive real-time improvements in the quality, safety and efficiency of care delivery.
The new version features include Microsoft HealthVault connectivity, Amalga Web functionality, preconfigured add-on Modules and improved IT tools to lower the total cost of ownership, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft Amalga UIS 2009 allows health organizations to better leverage data assets and empower and improve the productivity of their professionals. The application is claimed to empower all healthcare professionals, to make the most informed, timely decisions by giving them the right information at the right time.
Connecting Care with HealthVault
By providing connectivity with Microsoft HealthVault, Amalga UIS, Microsoft claims that it helps hospitals improve the patient experience and the efficiency of care delivery by capturing and presenting patient data throughout the care process, from patient pre-registration to discharge and beyond. For example, once authorized by a patient, Amalga UIS can pull a patient’s medication lists, allergies, and vital signs such as blood pressure and blood glucose from the patient’s HealthVault record into Amalga UIS, saving time for the patient and improving the completeness and accuracy of patient information delivered to clinicians.
When authorized by the patient, Amalga UIS can push patient data generated at the hospital—including test results, medications and discharge summaries—to the patient’s HealthVault record via the ASTM Continuity of Care Record (CCR) industry standard specification. The patient can then use and share this information, as desired, with other clinicians or caregivers. As a result, the patient can play a more active role in managing his care in partnership with providers, and more easily involve family members in their care as well.
NewYork-Presbyterian, ranked 6th in the nation on the U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll of America’s Best Hospitals, is using Microsoft Amalga to aggregate a wide range of patient data—including EKG reports, Echo reports, Surgery reports, discharge instructions, and discharge medications—and send it, using the CCR standard, to the patient’s personal HealthVault record accessible via http://mynyp.org, NYP’s new patient portal. The patient can store, access, use and share this personal health information provided by NYP, as desired, with other clinicians and specialists anywhere outside the hospital.
NYP also plans to use the new Amalga Web functionality to enable clinicians to more easily communicate and exchange authorized patient information generated at the hospital with affiliated referring physicians in the community or across the country. Amalga Web lets credentialed physicians access Amalga data remotely via a Web browser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari and save time and money by eliminating costly faxes, emails and phone calls.
“Hospitals and healthcare organizations can promote better real-time decision making, and ultimately better health outcomes, by liberating the wealth of patient data stored in siloed systems and putting it in the hands of key stakeholders,” said Steve vice president, Microsoft Health Solutions Group, Shihadeh, in a prepared statement,. “When used together, Amalga UIS and HealthVault bring this existing information to patients, doctors, family members and caregivers, which helps keep them informed while improving their effectiveness and productivity, as well as their overall experience with the care process.”
New Quality, Research and Imaging Modules
The new Amalga UIS modules and extensions are designed to address the specific business needs of healthcare organizations. The Amalga UIS Quality Measures module is designed to help healthcare organizations track and comply with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) core measures, as hospitals are penalized when not in compliance. The Quality Measures module captures data on all patients as they enter the hospital, determines whether a patient is a core measure candidate, and then enables the hospital to track and measure compliance in real-time. As a result, healthcare organizations can drive change and ensure compliance before a patient leaves the hospital, rather than after as is the typical practice, according to Microsoft.
The Amalga UIS Research Foundation module allows researchers to interactively explore clinical and life science data generated by multiple systems from a single location. The Research Foundation Module provides a next generation data repository, ontology management and a query environment for experimental and operational data. Using the Research Foundation Module in concert with Amalga UIS, research organizations are able to unite the diverse disciplines, methods, and investigators that will empower the discovery and transformation of biological insight into clinical practice.
The Amalga UIS Medical Imaging module allows clinicians to unify medical images from all departments within and across multiple institutions and access them in one place with related clinical information. Clinicians can visualize images from multiple DICOM modalities (CT, MR, US, X-Ray, etc). The Medical Imaging module uses server side processing to facilitate faster delivery and minimize network utilization, providing clinicians with access throughout the enterprise. The storage layer supports centralization of the images or allows customers to leverage their existing storage infrastructure.
Amalga UIS 2009 also features new and improved visualization options with dashboard graphs, providing a simple real-time view of complex data like patient flow and finances, and a completely redesigned user interface that incorporates the usability advances and look and feel of familiar Microsoft products.
Amalga UIS 2009 allows healthcare organizations to leverage existing investments to quickly build and deploy new solutions, rather than the typical “rip and replace” approach. Microsoft Amalga UIS is in use at more than 90 hospitals in renowned U.S. healthcare institutions, including New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Johns Hopkins Health System, Novant Health, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, St. Joseph Health System and the Wisconsin Health Information Exchange.