VERTICAL MARKETS -- March 30, 1998
GOVERNMENT
Bureau employs new imaging system
The Ohio Bureau of Employment Services (Columbus, OH) has contracted with Dakota Imaging (Columbia, MD) for an automated forms and document processing system. Dakota Imaging will replace the bureau's existing imaging OCR with its Transform OCR/ICR imaging system. Transform will provide scanning, OCR/ICR data capture, tape/floppy input, workflow, welfare tax credit processing, Internet tax submission and optical storage management. The bureau will use Transform statewide to automate unemployment insurance reports and welfare tax credit cases. Dakota Imaging estimates that the bureau will reduce its quarterly cycle to 10 days from 45 to 90 days required by the semi-automated system.
Digitalizing digit information
The Cook County, IL, Sheriff's Office has started to implement a criminal apprehension and booking system (CABS) and a computerized criminal history records system from NEC Technologies (Itasca, IL). The system will allow the sheriff's department to share information with the Chicago Police Department and the Illinois State Police. "The ability to search the Illinois State Police and the Chicago Police Department fingerprint databases increases our opportunity to identify recidivists immediately and helps resolve criminal investigations," said Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan. The CABS includes 100 NEC LS-21 live-scan workstations throughout the county for fingerprint scanning.
MANUFACTURING
Appliance maker expands info availability
Whirlpool (Benton Harbor, MI) will implement an enterprise solution developed by RWD Technologies (Columbia, MD) for letting its vendors, partners and employees have access to up-to-date information about Whirlpool's products and services.
The product information asset management (PIAM) solution uses Documentum's (Pleasanton, CA) EDMS system to create, store, review and update all of Whirlpool's product information and user manuals. That information is stored in a vault where authorized personnel can access it via a standard browser.
Whirlpool has tested the system and eventually plans to expand the access to customers.
"Our new PIAM system will greatly improve the quality and accuracy of the information we distribute to our customers and trade partners," said Mike Berendsen, senior project manager for sales and distribution IS for Whirlpool.
Worldwide data warehouse system
Life science system and analytical instrument manufacturer Perkin-Elmer (Norwalk, CT) has selected Business Data Services (Glastonbury, CT) to develop a data warehouse solution for its offices worldwide. The technology consulting and systems development company will build a solution around Perkin-Elmer's existing Oracle database and SAP platform. The data warehouse will provide access to employees throughout the world.
First, Detroit; next, the nation
Allegiance Healthcare (McGaw Park, IL), a manufacturer and supplier of healthcare products, is installing Witron's (Rolling Meadows, IL) IMS warehouse management system software at more than 30 facilities nationwide.
"We are using Witron's warehouse management software in our Detroit distribution center, and it has proven to be very effective. The system has improved our efficiency and service," said Dan Sobeck, VP of distribution technology at Allegiance.
FINANCIAL
Banking on Lotus
U.S. Bancorp (Minneapolis) has licensed Lotus Development's (Cambridge, MA) Domino and Lotus Notes to provide intranet collaborative computing and messaging among 25,000 employees in 17 states. The bank will also work with Lotus Consulting to plan, manage and implement the infrastructure. U.S. Bancorp will use the system for an enterprise messaging, group calendaring and scheduling, and intranet workflow application on IBM (Armonk, NY) servers for automated forms processing. "We chose Lotus after an extensive evaluation of alternative messaging and intranet solutions," said Terry Sandvik, president of the Business Technology Center for U.S. Bancorp. The solution will "provide seamless integration with our IBM systems and accommodate our rapid growth well into the future," he said.
HEALTHCARE
Enhancing strategic decision making
Sisters of Charity Health Care System (New York) has recently started using HealthShare Technology's (Acton, MA) HealthShare One data mining, data analysis and report generating software to help automate market-based, clinical and financial data.
"With its breadth and depth of information, HealthShare Technology allows Sisters of Charity to strengthen our strategic decision-making process," said Sandra Sperry, senior VP of clinical resources at Sisters of Charity. "It helps to operationalize it and put it in a context that is useful," she said.
The product allows the company to generate reports in-house and get answers to follow-up questions that otherwise would have taken time through outsourcing.
HealthShare Technology also recently announced deals with three other New York area healthcare providers: Beth Israel Health Care System, St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center and Lenox Hill Hospital.
IPN Network and MedPlus form alliance
Patient financial management firm IPN Network (Nashville, TN) has signed an agreement with healthcare document management and system developer MedPlus (Cincinnati). IPN will make available to its clients MedPlus' ChartMaxx automated patient records product and use the process engineering services of MedPlus subsidiary FutureCore. MedPlus will market IPN's outsourcing services including hospital registration, admitting, billing and collections.
MedPlus also recently announced the availability of a new Web-based application of its ChartMaxx product that allows clinicians to sign patient charts digitally from the hospital intranet as well as view and query chart information.
Managed Care System provides info across networks
Health Systems Technologies (Seattle) has announced that Piedmont Health Alliance (Anderson, SC) and M&M Management and Consulting (Cleveland) are implementing its Trillium Managed Care System (MCS) to share benefits, eligibility and referral information across their networks.
Piedmont, a physician hospital organization, will also use MCS to manage capitated and indemnity contracts and process claims across its network of more than 150 physicians. The system "will meet our data distribution and collection needs, and allow us to connect our providers into a single, efficient network," said David R. Evans, executive director of Piedmont.
M&M, a management services organization that offers administrative services to provider networks, selected the solution "because of its ability to link the provider network as well as provide the comprehensive managed care information our providers need to manage their business more effectively," said Nabil Gabriel, executive VP of M&M