Picis Extends Leadership in Veterans Affairs Hospitals with Eight Additional VA Medical Centers Contracting for Anesthesia and ICU Solutions

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VA Sunshine Healthcare Network selects Picis information solutions to integrate with VistA and help clinicians improve patient care.

Wakefield, MA, March 31, 2010—Picis announced that it has been awarded two Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) contracts by Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 8, also known as the VA Sunshine Healthcare Network. VISN 8 selected Picis Anesthesia Manager, Preop Manager, PACU Manager and Critical Care Manager, part of the CareSuite® family of high-acuity solutions, for eight VA Medical Centers (VAMC) across Florida and Puerto Rico. These Picis solutions are designed to help clinicians better manage the clinical documentation, workflow, and financial functions from the moment a patient receives anesthesia in surgery, through post anesthesia care units (PACU)/recovery, to the intensive care units (ICU), and provide unique remote ICU management. This includes VA medical centers in Miami, Tampa, Northern Florida, Orlando and West Palm Beach Florida, as well as Puerto Rico.

These two awards mark the fifth and sixth major VISN awards in the last 12 months for Picis critical care and perioperative solutions, increasing its momentum within the Veterans Health Administration. Picis has now contracted with 34 VA medical centers in 10 regions across the country. Additionally, this VISN 8 contract represents the third VISN to select Picis for both its ICU and anesthesia record keeping (ARK) needs. In October 2009, the VA Healthcare System of Ohio (VISN 10) selected Picis Anesthesia Manager, PACU Manager and Critical Care Manager for its five VA medical centers. In addition, VA Sierra Pacific Network has been using Critical Care Manager for years, and in 2007 added Picis anesthesia, preoperative and PACU solutions to provide an integrated solution across its entire high-acuity continuum. The VA Medical Center in Miami, part of VISN 8, has relied on Picis’ integrated anesthesia and ICU system for more than five years and the VISN plans to use the VA Miami system as a foundation on which to expand the solution across the other medical centers throughout the network.

VISN 8 selected Picis for its ICU and perioperative automation needs based on the advantages of a single contiguous record. This vital clinical archetype has many benefits to the VISN, such as:

  •     a single admission and single discharge for the entire patient stay;
  •     an integrated flowsheet from preoperative care to anesthesia to PACU and then to intensive care;
  •     the automatic transfer and calculation of fluid balances and medication totals between the perioperative and ICU areas;
  •     a single, fully integrated database, significantly enhancing enterprise interoperability within the VISN;
  •     quick view of prior high-resolution data by simply scrolling back on a timeline;
  •     unlimited remote viewing of any current or previous ICU or perioperative record across the VISN with Picis eView for Critical Care Manager™, a browser-based view of the ICU and the patient status from any internet connection;
  •     reduced hardware and third-party software costs, less training and support investment by the VISN; and
  •     a single vendor point of contact for support and maintenance of both systems.

In addition, Picis solutions have a history of demonstrated interoperability with VistA, and the VISN-wide high acuity database and data analytics system designed to analyze care quality and outcomes. ?“On behalf of all my colleagues at Picis, I would like to reaffirm our commitment to providing state-of-the-art technology that supports VA Medical Centers and their goal of delivering exceptional healthcare to the millions of veterans who have served our country, including 1.7 million veterans served by VISN 8,” said Todd Cozzens, CEO of Picis. ?Facilities in VISN 8 to implement the Picis solution include:

  •     Bruce W. Carter Department of VA Medical Center (Miami, FL);
  •     James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital (Tampa, FL);
  •     Lake City VA Medical Center (Lake City, FL);
  •     Malcolm Randall VA Medical Center (Gainesville, FL);
  •     Orlando VA Medical Center (Orlando, FL);
  •     West Palm Beach VA Medical Center (West Palm Beach, FL);
  •     VA Caribbean Healthcare System (San Juan, Puerto Rico); and
  •     Bay Pines VA Healthcare System (Bay Pines, FL) — implementing Critical Care Manager.

The formal announcement of these awards can be found at https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=8d410669d88c0cdd4b19f87083d81667&tab=core&_cview=0

About Picis
Picis is a global provider of innovative information solutions that enable rapid and sustained delivery of clinical, financial, and operational results in the acute care areas of the hospital. These high-acuity areas include the emergency department, operating and recovery rooms, and intensive care units. Picis offers the most advanced suite of integrated products focused on these life-critical areas of the hospital where the patients are the most vulnerable, the care process is the most complex and an increasing majority of hospital costs and potential revenue are concentrated. Headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts, Picis has licensed systems for use in more than 1,800 hospitals in 19 countries. For more information on Picis, visit www.picis.com/solutions or to join a discussion on how cost containment and RAC impact emergency physicians or other issues, visit healthcare-exchange.com, Picis’ new blog. Follow Picis on Twitter at http://twitter.com/PicisInc.