St. Luke's Heath System, the largest healthcare provider in Idaho, has utilized Siemens Soarian Community Access technology in their market with great success as well. As of December 2005, St. Luke's has rolled out Siemens' Web-based physician portal to more than 1,300 users - including over 350 physicians representing over 100 practices and 640 hospital users.

"This technology has allowed us to improve the quality and safety of patient care," said Sheryl Bell, Director of Information Technology at St. Luke's. "Test results are available immediately from any workstation - inside or outside the hospital. Physicians are notified via e-mail when results are available or when lab values are outside normal ranges. They're able to access patient chart information online, all so that clinical decision making can involve the full scope of patient health information." She continued, "By connecting with NPN across state lines, we're extending the reach of information technology as a tool to improve the patient care experience."


"The Network" between Boise and Tacoma will serve as a "backbone" around which other communities in the region will be able to connect. Providers from Portland, Ore., to Wenatchee, Wash., have expressed interest in connecting to this collaborative effort, moving patient care across the Northwest into the 21st century.

"Interoperability, or the ability to exchange patient health information among disparate clinicians and other authorized participants, continues to be one the greatest barriers to rapid information technology adoption in healthcare," said Janet Dillione, Chief Operating Officer of the Healthcare IT Division at Siemens. "This regional exchange supports the national initiative of building an interoperable health information network and is one of the most innovative and groundbreaking projects we're involved with. While many folks in the healthcare world are talking about connectivity, St. Luke's, NPN and their partners in the Northwest are actually doing it - linking patients and physicians online, breaking down barriers, and eliminating the silos of information that exist between providers to improve the coordination and timeliness of patient care."

About Northwest Physicians Network

Northwest Physicians Network (NPN), based in Tacoma, Washington, is the largest delegated independent physicians association in the Northwest. It has networked together over 430 "main street" doctors in the south Puget Sound area to manage patient care and health for multiple health plans in the state. NPN and its physicians are leaders in the state on efforts ranging from chronic disease management to promoting dental care among under-served youth populations; from wellness programs for employers to administering third party, self-insured benefit programs. More information about NPN can be found at www.npnwa.net.

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