FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Medsphere Congratulates Dr. Kenneth W. Kizer for 2008 Apha Award for Excellence

Nation's Oldest and Largest Public Health Organization Recognizes Board Chairman for Improving Healthcare


CARLSBAD, Calif. - October 30, 2008 - Medsphere Systems Corporation, the leading provider of Open Source healthcare IT solutions, today is pleased to recognize company Chairman Kenneth W. Kizer, MD, MPH, as the recipient of the 2008 American Public Health Association's (APHA) Award for Excellence.

The APHA accolades specifically highlight Dr. Kizer's work in transforming the quality and operation of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system, as well as his work to establish the National Quality Forum (NQF), a Washington, D.C.-based quality improvement standards setting body. Dr. Kizer was the founding president and CEO of the NQF from 1999 through 2005. NQF-endorsed standards are used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Leapfrog Group and others to report on the quality of care in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and other healthcare facilities.

As the VA Undersecretary for Health from 1994 through 1999, Dr. Kizer was the Chief Executive Officer of the veterans healthcare system, the nation's largest healthcare system. In this role, he was the chief architect of the system's dramatic transformation that resulted in VA healthcare now being among the best in the nation. As part of this transformation, Dr. Kizer oversaw the largest and most successful electronic health record (EHR) implementation in U.S history. The VA healthcare system today is a prime example of how healthcare technology can increase efficiency and improve clinical outcomes.

"This award recognizes leading public health figures who are tireless champions for improving our healthcare system," said Michael J. Doyle, CEO of Medsphere. "The staff and management of Medsphere thanks APHA for recognizing Dr. Kizer's efforts to improve patient care and push for healthcare policy reform through proven processes and the state-of-the-art technologies."

Dr. Kizer received APHA's Award for Excellence at an awards ceremony on October 28th as part of the organization's 136th Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 25-29, 2008, in San Diego, CA.


About Medsphere Systems Corporation

As a disruptive force in healthcare information technology, Medsphere is revolutionizing the industry by delivering commercially supported Open Source software based on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' proven VistA EHR. The product of 20-plus years of development and more than $8 billion invested, VistA enabled the transformation of the VA into the nation's most efficient and clinically effective healthcare organization. Currently VistA contains roughly 2.1 billion clinical documents, 2.76 billion orders, and 1.51 billion images. As the commercialized version of VistA, Medsphere's OpenVista is a portfolio of products and professional services for hospitals, clinics and integrated delivery networks. OpenVista is currently used by over 20,000 individuals, including 2,500 physicians and contains hundreds of thousands of medical records. Medsphere addresses healthcare's capital constraints through an innovative business model:

  • A unique subscription-based pricing model minimizes upfront costs.
  • The Healthcare Open Source Ecosystem and Medsphere.org portal coordinate a unique grassroots community of customers/subscribers, partners and developers driving OpenVista innovation and providing a parallel development and support structure.
  • Medsphere's experienced team of healthcare technology professionals and unique suite of implementation tools deliver a fluid transition to a comprehensive healthcare information technology solution.

Founded in 2002, Medsphere is backed financially by Azure Capital Partners, Thomas Weisel Venture Partners and EPIC Ventures (formerly the Wasatch Venture Fund). Medsphere clients include Midland Memorial Hospital, Midland, Texas; West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WV DHHR); Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, Rock Springs, Wyoming; Lutheran Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York; and the federal government's Indian Health Service. For more information, visit http://www.medsphere.com and http://www.medsphere.org.


Contacts


Corporate:
Rick Jung
Chief Operating Officer
Medsphere Systems Corporation
(760) 692-3742 (office)
rick.jung@medsphere.com
  Media:
Lily Eng or Thea Lavin
Schwartz Communications for Medsphere
(415) 512-0770 (office)
medsphere@schwartz-pr.com

General Inquiries

info@medsphere.com