University of Colorado Hospital? Selects InterSystems Ensemble for Enterprise Integration
Innovative hospital evolves from Legacy Integration Platform to Ensemble Technology.
Cambridge, Massachusetts, December 6, 2010—InterSystems Corporation, the global leader in software for connected healthcare, announced that the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) has chosen the InterSystems Ensemble® rapid integration and development platform for enterprise-wide integration.
InterSystems specializes in advanced integration, database, and business intelligence technologies for breakthrough applications. UCH is recognized as one of the leading hospitals in the nation and is consistently recognized among the top hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report. Most recently, UCH has been cited as one of the top 10 academic medical centers in the country based on quality, patient safety and patient satisfaction, according to the 2010 Quality and Accountability Performance Scorecard, released by the University HealthSystems Consortium.
Strategy Change Drives Integration Platform Search
“For years, our strategy had been tied to the best-of-breed concept, which resulted in a very decentralized system with more than 150 unique interfaces,” said Peggy Dalious, UCH Applications Director. “Then, we made the decision to move to the InterSystems CACHÉ-based Epic Systems electronic health record application, which required major alterations to our IT plans.”
“We recognized that the integration engine represented a key piece of our infrastructure before we entered what is going to be a mass application overhaul,” Dalious continued.
The change in strategy came at a time when UCH was increasingly uneasy about its legacy integration platform, noted Dalious. The acquisition of the product’s company by another vendor, followed by the acquisition by yet another vendor, added a layer of complexity to working with the product.
“Our interface engineers had heard about Ensemble and thought it might be the right integration option for UCH,” Dalious said. After extensive research and interaction with multiple Ensemble customers, “we had a strong, sensible case for moving to Ensemble.”
The foundation for the Ensemble transition was developed based on a proof-of-concept project. UCH specified two difficult interfaces that would have to be built via Ensemble for the POC. InterSystems reviewed the interfaces onsite and defined the requirements, with UCH software specialists building the interfaces under the guidance of the InterSystems team.
Moving Forward on Solid Foundation
Following the success of the proof-of-concept, UHC has gone live with approximately 35 Ensemble-based interfaces with a core group of applications including human resources and ERP systems that will not be replaced by the Epic implementation. Plans are to go live in 1Q11 with the Epic ambulatory clinics application with Epic outpatient and inpatient modules and a total of about 85 interfaces rolling out through 3Q11.
“We’re already beginning to see how we can use other Ensemble capabilities once the interface migration from the legacy platform is complete,” Dalious said. “We know that features such as workflow management and business activity monitoring are available in Ensemble and we plan to take advantage of those facilities in the future.”
“Ensemble delivers the advanced technology required for strategic breakthroughs like the one now being realized by UCH,” said Paul Grabscheid, InterSystems Vice President of Strategic Planning. “As the healthcare industry continues to rapidly evolve, we are committed to partnering with our customers who leverage our software to optimize care delivery.”
About InterSystems
InterSystems Corporation is a global software technology leader with headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and offices in 23 countries. InterSystems provides advanced software technologies for breakthrough applications. InterSystems CACHÉ® is a high performance object database that makes applications faster and more scalable. InterSystems Ensemble® is a seamless platform for integration and the development of connectable applications. InterSystems HealthShare™ is a platform that enables the fastest creation of an Electronic Health Record for regional or national health information exchange. InterSystems DeepSee™ is software that makes it possible to embed real-time business intelligence capabilities in transactional applications.
InterSystems is the world’s #1 vendor of database and integration technologies for healthcare applications. InterSystems products are used by thousands of hospitals and labs worldwide, including all 14 hospitals on the Honor Roll of America’s Best Hospitals as rated by U.S. News and World Report. For more information, visit www.InterSystems.com.
About University of Colorado Hospital
University of Colorado Hospital is the Rocky Mountain region’s leading academic medical center, and has been recognized as one of the United States’ best hospitals, according to U.S. News & World Report. It is best known as an innovator in patient care and often as one of the first hospitals to bring new medicines to patients’ bedsides. Located at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colo., the hospital’s physicians are affiliated with the University of Colorado School of Medicine, part of the University of Colorado system. For additional information, go to www.uch.edu.