The implementation at St. Luke's began with a rollout to 35 pilot physicians in January 2004. In spring 2005, the user count was 100 physicians. With the addition of remote access and lab results, participation exploded. As of October 2005, St. Luke's had more than 1,200 users including nearly 300 physicians and 600 hospital users with remote access to the single sign-on physician portal, physician-to-physician secure messaging and clinician access to data.

"The reality is that healthcare today extends beyond one person, in one department, in one building," said Tom Miller, president, Healthcare Information Technology Division, Siemens Medical Solutions. "As a result, patients need more proactive, truly integrated care that considers their personal history and past encounters in the context of their current condition and needs, regardless of where they are physically located. Secure, Web-based communication infrastructures are crucial to supporting true collaboration among physicians, patients and other members of the care continuum - saving time, reducing costs and improving workflow."


Soarian Community Access is designed to meet the community-wide need for secure access to comprehensive clinical information across the continuum of care. It enables patients to request an appointment, referral and prescription refill online. Patients have the ability to communicate with their physician via email and view their clinical chart information such as lab results, EKGs and radiology reports online. Patients can create a Personal Health Record, which consolidates patient information in one central location that can be accessed by patients, their physicians and other healthcare professionals involved in their care.

The solution gives physicians the tools to respond to patient needs, assure privacy, and get reimbursed for their time and expertise. Communicating with colleagues is simplified, and intuitive reminder functions aid in monitoring patient tests and procedures. Daily workflow is streamlined via anytime/anywhere access to the communication network, enabling physicians to practice patient-centered healthcare.

Siemens Medical Solutions of Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) with headquarters in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and Erlangen, Germany, is one of the largest suppliers to the healthcare industry in the world. The company is known for bringing together innovative medical technologies, healthcare information systems, management consulting, and support services, to help customers achieve tangible, sustainable, clinical and financial outcomes. Employing approximately 31,000 people worldwide and operating in more than 120 countries, Siemens Medical Solutions reported sales of 7.6 billion EUR, orders of 8.6 billion EUR and group profit of 976 million EUR for fiscal 2005 (preliminary figures).

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