[April 15, 2004] TheraDoc Upgrades Infection Control Assistant to Provide Unmatched Surveillance and Enhanced Infection Management SALT LAKE CITY --(Business Wire)-- April 15, 2004 -- Improved Infection Control Tools Allow Hospitals to Implement a Well-Designed Strategy to Prevent, Control and Treat Infections TheraDoc Inc.(R) has enhanced its Web-based Infection Control Assistant (ICA) with several new, valuable infection control tools. The ICA is currently valued by Infection Control Professionals (ICPs) for its ability to conduct automated institution-wide surveillance and "push" historical and emerging actionable patient information to them in real time. The improved software offers enhanced reporting and alerting capabilities. Further, it enables comparison of infection rates with nationally accumulated NNIS data and allows ICPs to better monitor and track escalating patient care. An NCCLS M39 standards compliant antibiogram is now also provided. The Infection Control Assistant's upgraded features allow ICPs to aggressively address the prevention of infectious outbreaks, nosocomial infections and antibiotic resistance, critical issues identified as top priorities by JCAHO, the CDC and state health departments. The software's new functionality further supports healthcare organizations and ICPs in the frontline struggle to identify, quantify, and control community-acquired, healthcare-associated and nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infections. The following new functionalities enhance the already comprehensive capabilities of TheraDoc's Infection Control Assistant: Enhanced Reporting -- Allows ICPs to create baselines for specific infection rates in the hospital (e.g. central line bacteremias and ventilator associated pneumonia) and compare those rates against the corresponding published NNIS data. -- Monitors and tracks infection rates and provides critical infection management reports that ICPs can use to reduce infections, improve patient safety and support hospital infection control initiatives. -- Flexible reporting that provides convenient viewing of infection control data by source, location or equipment. This capability creates an environment where ICPs can easily navigate and accomplish all infection management, patient surveillance and intervention activities. Improved Alerting -- Flag alerts highlight MRSA and VRE patients for current management and for readmission. The ICA's ability to identify these patients and alert ICPs that they are being re-admitted provides an opportunity for proactive intervention, avoiding the introduction of resistant organisms into the hospital population. -- Nosocomial infection related death alerts provide prompt review of causality and reduce the time and effort it takes for an ICP to identify the incident, gather information to make a determination and report it to the appropriate governing body. Location Model -- TheraDoc's superior location model tracks the escalation of patient care and alerts ICPS to the fact that the need for care is escalating. This capability further facilitates comparisons with published NNIS data and saves valuable time for ICPs. Enhanced Antibiogram -- TheraDoc's online antibiogram is now NCCLS M39 compliant, meeting the College of Pathologists recommendations and facilitating adherence to a national standard for therapeutic recommendations. The ICA expands upon this standard by providing ICPs with the option of viewing the most resistant isolate as well as the first resistant isolate. TheraDoc worked closely with ICPs to understand their environment, needs and workflow. The results of this unique collaboration are reflected in the Infection Control Assistant's design, capabilities and ease of use; all of which enable healthcare providers to achieve outstanding clinical and financial outcomes. The ICA is integrated with TheraDoc's Antibiotic Assistant and Public Health Surveillance Assistant. To learn more about TheraDoc's Infection Control Assistant and other knowledge solutions, visit TheraDoc's Web site at www.TheraDoc.com. About TheraDoc TheraDoc is a medical informatics company specializing in therapeutic, real-time decision support that improves the quality, safety, and efficiency of patient care in large and small healthcare organizations. Integrated with disparate information systems or electronic medical records, TheraDoc's technology helps clinicians manage multiple processes of care across multiple conditions and diseases. Founded in 1999, TheraDoc designs, develops, and supports a suite of clinical decision support technologies. TheraDoc's founders and core medical informatics team are internationally recognized for their pioneering work in medical expert systems. Their experience in clinical decision support design and development spans two decades. On the Net: TheraDoc's site: http://www.TheraDoc.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]