iSoft to develop medication management

iSoft has announced that it will develop its own medication management solution, which will be embedded within Lorenzo.

The announcement comes after IBA, iSoft’s Australian parent company, entered into a $15m agreement to acquire Hatrix, a provider of electronic medication management solutions for acute and community healthcare providers.

The company says it will use Hatrix’s expertise to develop a Lorenzo medication management system.

This will initially be rolled-out in Australia and New Zealand, with deployments in European countries, including the UK and Ireland, from the beginning of 2010.

Andrea Fiumicelli, iSoft’s chief operating officer, told E-Health Insider: “Hatrix is a very small company that has developed a very sophisticated knowledge base solution to manage medication.

"The solution can minimise adverse affects of wrong medication or wrong dosage and provide decision support when prescribing. The Hatrix database will integrate with Lorenzo as well as other iSoft applications.”

The acquisition will also put IBA in a position to expand on Hatrix’s flagship product, MedChart, an internet-based medication management solution. The product enables instant prescribing pharmacy administration and review.

Gary Cohen IBA’s executive chairman and chief operating officer, said: “This is the kind of acquisition that allows us to leverage our global footprint with a proven and innovative medication management solution that will deliver real patient and carer benefits.

“We also believe this will position the company to work with the Australian government in its desire to roll-out medication management solutions to the Australian public hospital sector.”

Additionally, iSoft will use MedChart to underpin a new solution that it is planning to bring to market, called MedShare.

The new product, which will initially be available in Australia, will enable authorized clinicians from different health provider organizations to review and update shared patient medication records that are held in a secure repository.

Link: iSoft