Microsoft announced the European availability of Microsoft Amalga, the new unified intelligence system that allows hospital enterprises to unlock the power of all their data sitting in isolated clinical, financial and administrative solutions. Microsoft is also implementing a European Amalga early adopter customer programme, in which it will work with health providers to implement and deploy Amalga in various healthcare scenarios. Amalga is part of the Microsoft Amalga Family of Health Enterprise Systems, a portfolio of enterprise-class health solutions that provide rich integration, giving clinicians and executives quick access to valuable, up-to-the-minute information across their health enterprise, opening up new opportunities to improve patient care, organisational quality and operational efficiency. Amalga addresses the need for more effective use of all the healthcare organisation's data.
"The amount of data in hospitals is increasing exponentially. One of healthcare providers' biggest challenges is that care givers cant access patient information when and where they need it," said Graham Harrop, Microsoft Health Solutions Group, Director - Europe and Middle East. "Amalga offers proven solutions that bring together information from across the healthcare enterprise into one easily accessible view."
Amalga is in use at MedStar Health, a community-based network of eight hospitals and other healthcare services in the Baltimore-Washington, DC, area where it originated and has benefitted from 10 years of ongoing development. Microsoft acquired the solution and development team in 2006 and has focused on readying the product for commercial availability worldwide. As part of a US early adopter programme, Amalga is in the hands of renowned US healthcare institutions, including NewYork-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.
Amalga addresses a common and critical challenge of healthcare providers - integrating vast amounts of clinical, administrative and financial information that flow in and out of disparate information systems, and tailoring that information for use by physicians, analysts, laboratory technicians, nurses and administrators. Amalga takes advantage of health enterprises' investments in existing health IT solutions and makes it possible for the entire organisation to gain quick access to data and turn that information into critical knowledge that facilitates better decision-making and improved patient outcomes. The Unified Intelligence System approach allows hospitals with strong departmental characteristics, networks of clinics and connected hospitals a chance for differentiation. Amalga expands Microsofts business intelligence proposition, especially for comprehensive clinical information and context, and facilitates process and quality improvements.
The new Amalga system is built on widely used and supported Microsoft products to deliver important benefits, including security features, high availability, scalability and full audit capabilities. Amalga also offers simplified deployment and improved supportability through streamlined administration, configuration and self-provisioning tools for users.
The Amalga Family of Health Enterprise Systems includes the following:
- Microsoft Amalga. Amalga is part of a new software category called Unified Intelligence System that allows hospital enterprises to unlock the power of all their data sitting in isolated clinical, financial and administrative systems. Without replacing current systems, it offers an innovative way to capture, consolidate, store, access and quickly present data in meaningful ways for use by clinicians and executives of leading-edge institutions. Amalga is designed for hospitals and health systems that have invested in a diverse set of IT solutions.
- Microsoft Amalga Hospital Information System (HIS). Amalga HIS is a state-of-the-art, fully integrated hospital information system designed for developing and emerging markets. Amalga HIS is built around an electronic medical record with complete patient and bed management, laboratory, pharmacy, radiology information system and picture archiving and communication system (RIS/PACS), pathology, financial accounting, materials management, and human resource systems.
- Microsoft Amalga RIS/PACS. Amalga RIS/PACS is available as a stand-alone system in developing and emerging markets as well as an integrated component of Amalga HIS. The integrated architecture means that a radiologist can use a single application to manipulate and study images and access the patient medical record. The workstation interface, which includes support for predefined templates, an intuitive report editor and voice recognition capabilities, is optimised for radiologist work flow.
More information on the Amalga family is available at http://www.microsoft.com/amalga.
Related news articles:
- Microsoft's Profile
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.
About Microsoft EMEA
Microsoft has operated in EMEA since 1982. In the region Microsoft employs more than 16,000 people in over 64 subsidiaries, delivering products and services in more than 139 countries and territories.