Microsoft launches health IT product suite

Microsoft provided further details of its latest product launches and rebranded comprehensive healthcare software suite at the giant Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) event in Orlando, Florida, today.

Branded under the name Microsoft Amalga, the portfolio now includes a hospital information system, an electronic patient record system (EPR), a picture archiving and communications system (PACS) , a radiology information system (RIS) and business information software.

The new suite of products will cover its Azyxxi database portal product, described as part of a new software category called ‘Unified Intelligence Systems’. Benefits are said to be allowing hospitals to “unlock the power of all their data sitting in isolated clinical, financial and administrative systems.”

According to Microsoft, the product offers an innovative route to enable hospitals and other complex healthcare organisations to get value from their data cost effectively.

“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,” says Microsoft.

The product is specifically targeted at big complex acute providers that have significant existing IT investments they want to preserve. Currently only available in the US, E-Health Insider understands the product will be launched into the UK market later in 2008.

Behind the scenes, Microsoft has been working with BT since 2007 to jointly bid and supply the product to one of the leading teaching hospitals in London.

“One of the healthcare enterprise’s biggest issues is that providers and executives can’t access patient information when, where and how they need it,” said Steve Shihadeh, general manager for Microsoft Health Solutions Group. “Microsoft’s Amalga products offer proven solutions that bring together information from across the healthcare enterprise into one, easily accessible view.”

Equally eye-catching is the announcement that Microsoft is to launch and market a complete hospital information system, based around its Hospital 2000 acquisition.

Amalga HIS is a fully integrated hospital information system “designed for developing and emerging markets”. Amalga HIS is built around an electronic medical record (EMR) with complete patient and bed management, laboratory, pharmacy, radiology information system and RIS/PACS, pathology, financial accounting, material management and HR systems.

To complete the proposition Microsoft is also to tackle the RIS/PACS market. In a statement the company said: “The new version of the product formerly known as CGS Amalga is now available as a stand-alone system as well as an integrated component of Amalga HIS.”