MILPITAS, Calif., December 1999 -- LifeScan, Inc., the leading maker of blood glucose monitoring systems for hospital point-of-care testing*, announced that it has developed and implemented system interfaces with MEDITECH, one of the healthcare industry's three largest developers of laboratory information systems (LIS) software. LifeScan's SureStep®Pro 2.0 DataLink™ System, with Electronic Data Interface (EDI) technology, enables communication between a point-of-care (POC) blood glucose data management system and the MEDITECH laboratory information system. MEDITECH is the latest of the top three LIS vendors -- including Sunquest Information Systems (Tucson, AZ) and Cerner Corporation (Kansas City, MO) -- to develop an EDI with LifeScan. To date, LifeScan is the only maker of POC blood glucose products offering EDI technology.

"With the EDI interface compatibility, medical facilities with the MEDITECH LIS will be able to transmit patient blood glucose data faster from the POC to the LIS than they could previously," said Rorie Morgan, Product Manager, LifeScan. "And, by having EDIs compatible with products from the top three LIS vendors, LifeScan is now even better equipped to meet the needs of our current and future customers."

The first LifeScan/MEDITECH product installation went live at Christus Santa Rosa in San Antonio, TX, in December.

"Christus Santa Rosa is ahead of the curve in terms of point-of-care, and we'd like to stay that way," stated Deanna Bogner, POC testing coordinator at Christus Santa Rosa. "We chose LifeScan's EDI interface because it presented us with an opportunity for growth in the data management side of point-of-care. Prior to SureStepPro, we were unable to capture glucose tests electronically. Now, not only will we be able to capture and bill for tests we performed, but we'll be able to eliminate manual data entry, thus saving manpower."

LifeScan's SureStepPro 2.0 DataLink System with EDI, enables a patient's blood glucose data to be transmitted from the bedside unit, to the workstation, and on to the LIS. From there, individual patient data can be merged with the Electronic Medical Record, making it widely and readily accessible throughout the institution.

An EDI interface provides:

• Fast transfers between the workstation and the LIS.
  

• Updates to the interfaces are maintained by the LIS vendor.

"This past October, we installed LifeScan's SureStepPro System to remain in the forefront of managing point-of-care testing," stated Susan Boyle, POC testing coordinator at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, another LifeScan and MEDITECH customer now planning to add the EDI interface. "With EDI, we are able to capture data in real time, which will enhance our patient care."

In addition to the existing MEDITECH, Sunquest, and Cerner products, LifeScan plans to partner with other LIS vendors in 2000 to develop EDIs to expand LifeScan product compatibility. To achieve this compatibility, all LifeScan EDIs use an industry standard HL7 protocol.

The leading maker of blood glucose monitoring systems for hospital point of care testing*, LifeScan is also a leading provider of connectivity solutions for point-of-care testing with more than 240 installations for network, multiple modem, and single modem connectivity. LifeScan is part of the Johnson & Johnson family of diagnostic companies, including Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics.

MEDITECH has been a leader in health care information systems technology since 1969 and is installed in more than 1,500 hospitals, health care enterprises, and Integrated Delivery Systems worldwide.

*Reference: DDD database of IMS Health for combined test strips and meters, as of June 1999.

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