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Jenny Siminski
Office: (317) 644-1724 Cell: (317) 213-5466
E-mail: jsiminski@ihie.org

Indiana Health Information Exchange expands reach in northwest Indiana

Four hospitals in Northwest Indiana affiliated with Sisters of St. Francis network join the Indiana Health Information Exchange.

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (July 9, 2008) – The Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE) today announced that Saint Anthony Medical Center, Saint Anthony Memorial and Saint Margaret Mercy are now using its results delivery / clinical messaging service, called the DOCS4DOCS® service.

These hospitals serve patients in northwest Indiana and make up the Northern Indiana Region of the Sisters of Saint Francis Health Services, Inc. (SSFHS) health system, a charter member of IHIE.

Saint Anthony Memorial is located in Michigan City, primarily serving La Porte and Porter Counties in Indiana as well as Berrien County, Michigan. Saint Anthony Medical Center is located in Crown Point and serves Lake County and surrounding communities. Saint Margaret Mercy has hospital locations in Hammond and Dyer serving locations in northwest Indiana and southeast Chicago.

"We are pleased to add these four hospitals to our growing network," said Dr. J. Marc Overhage, President and CEO of the Indiana Health Information Exchange, Director of Medical Informatics at the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. and Regenstrief Professor of Medical Informatics at the Indiana University School of Medicine. "These additions to our network demonstrate the value of the service and reinforce the commitment of these communities to provide the best health care possible for their patients."

The DOCS4DOCS service is a sophisticated, secure, Web-based service that delivers clinical reports such as transcription, radiology and laboratory to physician offices, replacing traditional delivery systems such as courier and postal mail. It was developed by the Regenstrief Institute and is run in conjunction with IHIE.

"IHIE is a significant component of health-care information technology and it greatly advances our network of hospitals to provide efficient, seamless and top-notch care for our patients," said Kevin Leahy, president and CEO of Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc.

"The SSFHS Northern Indiana Region hospitals have been eager to implement the services of the Indiana Health Information Exchange for patients and physicians in the region," said Gene Diamond, Chief Executive Officer of the SSFHS Northern Indiana Region. "For individual patients, access to good care becomes easier and safer when records can easily be shared. For the medical staff, the confidential, clinical messaging results in greater time efficiency in providing patient treatment.

"Having quality information at the point of care is essential to providing the best patient treatment," Diamond said.

Marla Hoyer-Lareau, assistant vice president of Ambulatory Services at Saint Margaret Mercy in Hammond and Dyer said, "We are excited about our participation in the IHIE network. We are looking forward to providing this service to our physicians. Having immediate access to clinical information will expedite the care for our patients."

The DOCS4DOCS service is one of the nation's most respected clinical messaging services; 30 hospitals in Indiana are sending on average over 1.4 million messages each month to approximately 10,000 Indiana physicians.

In addition to the Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, Inc., IHIE's other charter hospitals and hospital systems are Clarian Health, Community Health Network, St. Vincent Health and Wishard Health Services.

About the Indiana Health Information Exchange
Indiana Health Information Exchange, Inc. (IHIE) is a non-profit corporation formed by the Regenstrief Institute, private hospitals, local and state health departments, BioCrossroads, the state's life sciences initiative, and other prominent organizations in Indiana. IHIE is the nation's most respected health information exchange organizations and one of the nation's only health information exchange organizations providing chronic disease and preventive health services (www.qualityhealthfirst.org). It is dedicated to supporting communities by providing services that enable the right medical information to get to the right provider at the right time to enhance patient care. To learn more, visit www.ihie.org.

About Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, Inc. and the Northern Indiana Region
The Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, Inc. owns and operates a network of 13 hospital campuses in Indiana and Illinois. SSFHS is one of the largest healthcare systems in Indiana.

SSFHS hospitals in the Northern Indiana Region are Saint Margaret Mercy, Hammond and Dyer; Saint Anthony, Crown Point; Saint Anthony Memorial, Michigan City and Franciscan Physicians Hospital, LLC, (a physician hospital partnership) in Munster.