BARRINGTON, Ill. - GE Healthcare has announced that University of South Florida Physicians Group (USFPG) at USF Health will expand its relationship
with GE Healthcare's Integrated IT Solutions business through a comprehensive product upgrade of the former IDX Flowcast(tm) system as part of an ambitious, $15-million program to create a national center for healthcare excellence.

The USF Physicians Group (USFPG) is the multi-specialty faculty practice of USF
Health's College Of Medicine. The group's 415 physicians, 125 mid-level providers and nearly 200 residents care for more than 31,000 patients and oversee 396,000 outpatient visits annually throughout the Greater Tampa Bay Area.
USFPG will team with GE to accelerate its patient-centered information technologies (IT) initiative designed to create the ideal patient experience from the initial contact with USFPG and the initial provider visit, to patient-friendly billing and timely follow-up care that incorporates online patient-provider communication. To facilitate this initiative, USFPG will upgrade to GE's full web-based Patient Access and Patient Financials Suites, as well as Patient Online and Referring Practice Online, secure web-based portals for patients and physicians.

To provide patients with online access to their administrative and clinical records and supply the tools for collaborative care, USFPG's initiative also calls for the integration of their practice management system with an Electronic Medical Record (EMR). USFPG will use the Web Framework from GE to directly link the Allscripts TouchWorks EMR with the GE patient access and financial applications, facilitating the creation of a Master Patient Index (MPI) and enabling charge capture capabilities at the point of care.

This integrated patient-centered IT solution will be rolled out in USFPG's 12 locations over the next year and will be the centerpiece of USF's planned $88 million Centers for Advanced Healthcare, two state-of-the-art ambulatory centers scheduled to open in 2007. The long-term strategic goal for the centers is based on a clearly defined vision of the ideal patient experience achieved through a productive paperless workflow that incorporates USFPG's academics and research centers, and thereby trains the next generation of providers to use advanced
technology in support of their patient communities.

"We are building a place where quality, technology and service combine to create a national model of excellence," said Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, vice president for USF Health and dean of the College of Medicine. "The enhanced relationship with GE is critical to the development of our new Centers for Advanced Healthcare and will position the USF Physicians Group as a clear leader in the region."

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