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MediQual's Atlas Clinical Software Selected as System of Choice by Sisters of Charity Health Care System

Atlas Installed in Ten Acute Care Facilities in System to Improve Performance and Meet JCAHO ORYX Requirements

WESTBOROUGH, Mass., July 16 /PRNewswire/ -- MediQual Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cardinal Health, Inc., today announced that Sisters of Charity Health Care System, Houston, Texas, will use Atlas at all system-owned hospitals to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care and fulfill the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization's (JCAHO) ORYX requirements.

"Mortality has decreased significantly throughout our hospital system since we began using Atlas in 1989," said Cindy Keever, corporate director of clinical quality at Sisters of Charity Health Care System. "With Atlas installed at each system-owned facility, we can now measure and monitor quality of care throughout our hospital network."

Sisters of Charity hospitals use Atlas to measure mortality and charges for cesarean sections, pneumonia, CHF, and adult medical and surgical procedures. At monthly video conferences, the hospitals review Atlas reports comparing individual hospital performance and share quality improvement strategies.

"The decision by Sisters of Charity Health Care System to install Atlas at member hospitals reflects the growing power of Atlas in the performance measurement systems market," said Fritz Krieger, vice president and general manager of Cardinal Information Corporation. "As healthcare systems look to improve care and meet the JCAHO's reporting requirements, Atlas has become the system of choice. Today, Atlas is used by more than 2,000 healthcare professionals across the country."

Sisters of Charity Health Care System is a Catholic, not-for-profit system based in Houston, Texas. The system owns and operates acute care hospitals, long-term care centers, medical management services organizations, physician networks, HMOs, PPOs, and other related healthcare businesses in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Utah, and Ireland. To date, nine hospitals owned by Sisters of Charity and one managed by the group have installed Atlas.

Atlas is a Windows(R) 95-based clinical information manager (CIM) that combines proprietary clinical knowledge with actual patient data, enabling hospitals to monitor and enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and appropriateness of care.

Headquartered in the Boston area, MediQual is a pioneer in the development of computer-based clinical information management systems used by large and small hospitals, pharmaceutical firms, medical device manufacturers, and business coalitions. MediQual is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dublin, Ohio- based Cardinal Health, Inc., one of the country's leading healthcare service companies. The company provides innovative, cost-effective pharmaceutical services that improve the medication use process to a broad base of customers nationwide. In addition to clinical information systems development, these services include pharmaceutical distribution, hospital pharmacy management, automated dispensing manufacturing, pharmaceutical packaging, and retail pharmacy franchising. Cardinal Health is a Fortune 200 company and its common stock is a component of the Standard and Poor's 500 Index.

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