HealthCast Recognized With Windows Embedded Partner Excellence Award For The Americas

Illinois-based Rockford Health System uses HealthCast's QwickACCESS solution to provide clinicians secure access to patient records with a tap of a badge

HIMSS Conference, Booth #7955 - HealthCast, Inc., a provider of powerful enterprise-wide single sign-on solutions that help physicians and nurses deliver better care by streamlining access to comprehensive patient data, announced it has been named by Microsoft as a 2012 Windows Embedded Partner Excellence Award recipient for Intelligent Systems in the Americas.

The company won the award for its work at Illinois-based Rockford Health System, which uses HealthCast's enhanced sign on QwickACCESS solution on HP thin clients with Windows Embedded technology to give clinicians instant, centralized access to information and, according to Rockford Health System, saved the organization $500,000 in hardware costs.

The Windows Embedded Partner Excellence Awards recognize members of the Windows Embedded Partner Program that excel at driving the Windows Embedded business and the development of intelligent systems worldwide. Intelligent systems represent the evolution of the embedded device market that enables data to flow across an enterprise infrastructure, spanning the devices where valuable data is gathered from employees and customers, to the back-end systems where that data can be translated into insights and action.

"We are honored to be recognized by Windows Embedded as a 2012 winner for Intelligent Systems in the Americas," said Joan Mehn, President and Chief Executive Officer of HealthCast. "Our QwickACCESS solution enables hospitals and health systems to enhance quality of care giving clinicians more time to spend with their patients, improve physician satisfaction and workflow efficiencies, and facilitate clinician compliance with security and privacy regulations such as HIPAA. Our clients also report that it helps them decrease security risks associated with 'bring your own device' (BYOD), replacing the use of personal tablets or mobile devices with an easier and more convenient, secure tap of the badge for quick access."

Rockford Health System, which includes a 396-bed hospital, deployed QwickACCESS to meet clinicians' needs for faster, easy-to-use, secure access to patient information on its electronic health record (EHR) used across its ambulatory and in-patient settings. Clinicians enter their password only once each day and can then tap their badge on a proximity reader at the patient's bedside, for example, to instantly review and update the patients EHR.

"HealthCast's enterprise sign on solution frees up our clinicians to spend more time with patients," said Shawn David, Chief Technology and Security Officer at Rockford Health System. "It handles the authentication, login, and logout, and we estimate it will save a 2-person clinician team in the ambulatory setting a minimum of 25-30 minutes per day, giving them secure, immediate access to medical records."

David continued, "It has dramatically increased physician satisfaction, helping us win widespread clinician adoption for the comprehensive enterprise EHR system we began implementing in 2010, which in turn helps Rockford Health System meet meaningful use criteria."

Eric Croswhite, Americas Thin Client Manager at HP, which won the 2012 Windows Embedded Partner Excellence Award for Intelligent System in the Americas with HealthCast, said, "We are partnering with HealthCast to provide convenient and secure access to patient health information. Our combined solution built on Windows Embedded technologies is a cost effective approach that helps hospitals solve the pressing clinical, business and financial challenges they are facing."

"Healthcare is a major industry that is benefiting from intelligent systems created by partners like HealthCast," said Valerie Olague, Windows Embedded business group lead, Americas at Microsoft. "We are excited to recognize HealthCast for their innovation in improving the healthcare environment and patient care alike." The Windows Embedded Partner Program is a strategic worldwide program that provides partners with increased business opportunities, market awareness and technology advice. For more information about the Windows Embedded Partner Program, visit: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/en-us/partners/

About HealthCast
Since 1996, HealthCast has designed software to provide physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers fast, simple, and secure access to patient data so they can focus on patient care without confronting the hurdles of secure computer access to the information they need. Solutions provide unparalleled speed to EHRs and clinical desktops, secure fast-user switching, automated workflow eliminating "clicks", unique proximity badge features, remote access solutions with second factor authentication, and "roaming sessions" to allow users immediate re-access to their work at any computer - all critical for successful clinician adoption of EHRs, CPOE, and electronic patient documentation. For more information, visit www.gohealthcast.com.