You've heard of hardware and software. You've heard of firmware. But have you heard of middleware? It is the software conduit that enables effective workflow, efficient file translation and empowered integration of multiple vendor software programs within hospital information systems, even radiology. Middleware is employed with higher-level system architecture.

Systems Interfacing

Any medical professional working amid nonconforming workflow files cries uncle when the software systems fail to confer effectively and facilitate an accurate outcome. NeoTool's healthcare integrated solutions manage data exchanges to leverage a larger hospital's current system software or integrate a smaller medical organization's workflow to preclude such frustrating and costly episodes.

In December, 2008, NeoTool announced its latest version of, NeoIntegrate™, its middleware for healthcare systems interfacing.

Jon Mertz, VP Marketing, said, "NeoTool uses the TCP/IP connection to port data within a facility or from one facility to an external agent. An example would be translating data from a patient's social security number with dashes between the numbers to a format that contained no dashes."

Middleware's function is to monitor such configuration minutiae.

California, Wyoming Hospital Examples

Natividad Medical Center (NMC) in Monterey County, CA is a 172-bed acute care medical center. The facility that had previously used point-to-point interface recently adopted the NeoIntegrate solution to facilitate admission, discharge and transfer (ADT) messages more efficiently.

"Our mission was to build a hub-and-spoke approach to connecting our applications. NeoIntegrate is an economical, practical approach to interfacing in a MEDITECH environment, and utilizes our limited resources more effectively," said Michael Jobin, CIO, NMC.

Jobin's criteria for selecting NeoTool included: customer support; product reputation; and ease in building, testing and deploying interfaces. Believing that quality of care for NMC will improve, Jobin states that the addition of NeoTool will reduce costs and increase the facility's technological competitiveness within the healthcare system of California.

"The Natividad team's consistent focus on improving patient care through a more effectively integrated network provided clear direction to NeoTool from our first visit through deployment of their initial interfaces," said Phil Guy, CEO of NeoTool.

Ivinson Memorial Hospital (IMH), Laramie, Wyoming, also migrated to NeoIntegrate, selecting it for its flexibility to meet diverse and dynamic requirements, effective monitoring and fast deployment.

"We needed an integration engine that would function seamlessly in our MEDITECH environment, leveraging ADT feeds to many different systems including PACS, transcription, medication supply stations, external billing applications, etc. NeoTool's integration engine has functioned flawlessly, saving Ivinson Memorial substantially in interface costs," said Brandon Lewis, Systems Engineer, Medicine Bow Technologies, a provider of technology and service solutions to IMH.


Menu-Driven Approach

NeoIntegrate has a menu-driven approach to developing interfaces and allows testing at every stage. Lewis praised the graphical user interface for its alerting capabilities and proactivity in serving a high-demand environment.

"Our business is two-fold," said Mertz. "We serve providers such as hospitals directly, and we also work with OEMs who seek to incorporate our product. They focus on their core applications and we offer the flexibility of integration."

He continues, "The trend we see in the marketplace is an increase in external communication, especially with electronic medical records. NeoTool facilitates this securely and efficiently."

For more information on NeoIntegrate, contact Jon Mertz.