Making A Difference - Reducing Medical Errors, Improved Claims Processing
Ok, this is the first in a series of blog entries I'm doing to show how Sun is making a difference in the world. I will highlight some very cool and impactful solutions that Sun has brought to bear.
1. Karmanos Cancer Institute and Rush University Medical Center - Read about it
About the customer
- About Karmanos Cancer Institute: The Karmanos Cancer Institute is committed to a future free of cancer. The Meyer L. Prentis Comprehensive Cancer Center of Metropolitan Detroit, operated by the Institute, is one of 39 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. Caring for more than 6,000 new patients annually on a budget of $200 million, conducting more than 400 cancer-specific scientific investigation programs and clinical trials, the Institute is among the nation's best cancer centers. The Institute strives to prevent, detect and eradicate cancer through 1,200 staff including 300 faculty members supported by hundreds of volunteers and thousands of financial donors. More information can be found at http://www.karmanos.org
- About Rush University Medical Center: Rush University Medical Center is an academic medical center that encompasses the more than 600 staffed-bed hospital (including Rush Children's Hospital), the Johnston R. Bowman Health Center and Rush University. Rush is noted for bringing together clinical care and research to address major health problems, including arthritis and orthopedic disorders, cancer, heart disease, mental illness, neurological disorders and diseases associated with aging. More information can be found on the Web at http://www.rush.edu
About the DIFFERENCE
- Secure health information exchange, cost-efficient data management, regulatory compliance and caregiver mobility are just some of the benefits of these solutions. These solutions also reduce costs and medical errors while improving efficiency and patient-centric care.
- "The Sun storage and retrieval system we are deploying at Karmanos is already improving our ability to make timely and accurate care-giving decisions by putting patient information at clinicians' fingertips in seconds," said Richard Doak, IT Technical Architect Manager, Karmanos Cancer Institute. "Beyond the healthcare benefits, the Sun system is cost-effective, dependable and flexible. Its tried and true design has been time-tested for 20 years, and its open architecture easily integrates with best-of-breed software and low-cost hardware, allowing us to expand its use over time throughout KCI."
- Rush University Medical Center's deployment of a complete Sun infrastructure for its new Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system. "When medical information is better managed through its lifecycle, medical errors are reduced..." said Joerg Schwarz, director of Healthcare & Life Sciences, Sun Microsystems.
About the solution
- The Karmanos Cancer Institute (KCI) in Detroit recently adopted a Sun StorageTek solution for its file-based clinical applications archive, which stores crucial patient data from a variety of hospital departments such as radiology and cardiology. The complete Sun archival system, which includes Sun StorageTek(TM) SAM-FS data-management software, a midrange SATA disk array and a tape library running on the Solaris OS, helps provide KCI physicians with easy and immediate access to patient records and medical imaging whenever it is needed.
- The new Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system at Rush was comprised of UltraSPARC®-based Sun Fire servers, Sun StorageTek solutions and the Solaris 10 OS, powers mission-critical patient information and financial applications at the renowned teaching hospital, to further improve their efficiency of delivering patient care and streamline operations.
- Sun technologies such as StorageTek(TM) 5800, SunRay(TM) and Sun(TM) Secure Global Desktop Software thin-client and mobility technologies, Sun Java technologies including Java(TM) Composite Application Platform Suite and Sun Java(TM) Identity Management Suite, as well as Sun Systems offerings are part of the comprehensive healthcare offerings at these and many other customers.
2. State of Washington Medicaid System - Read about it
About the customer
- The State of Washington's Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) assists more than 1.5 million children, families, vulnerable adults and seniors with protection, comfort, food assistance, financial aid, medical care and other services. As a single agency, DSHS is able to provide services from Medicaid and several other programs to meet client needs.
About the DIFFERENCE
- Faster access to claims information, more efficient claims processing and improved customer service
- Medicaid costs may continue to rise, but the state of Washington has put a system in place to keep the associated IT costs in check.
About the solution
- The Sun Java Composite Application Platform Suite (Java CAPS) will be responsible for addressing this connectivity challenge through the provision of integration and composite application development software. The architecture will support an Oracle 10G database and multiple Web-based applications running on Sun Fire servers and the Solaris 10 Operating System. A Sun StorageTek 6290 system and L700 tape library will provide a storage-area network (SAN) for efficient backup and management of claims data. The system's core Web server platform runs on a Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) foundation, and will allow users to access critical application components through a Web browser interface.
Keep up the good work, Sun! 
