Department of Health signs two year Choose and Book contract extension with Atos Healthcare

Helping to improve the way care is delivered to patients

London, Atos Healthcare, a business division of Atos Origin, today announced that it has signed a two year contract extension with the Department of Health to continue managing the electronic booking system, Choose and Book.

Atos Healthcare together with its longstanding partner, Cerner Corporation, a leading supplier of healthcare information technology, designed, developed and now manages the Choose and Book service to provide patients with increased choice and improved access to NHS services.

Today over 50% of all referrals are made using Choose and Book showing that it is now the standard way to schedule initial hospital and clinic appointments. Since Atos Healthcare delivered the application in July 2004, more than 11.9 million patients have already benefited from the system.

The service has delivered benefits for patients, medical professionals and hospitals across England. For example, the number of patients who did not attend’ their appointment has reduced at a number of hospitals, because patients have been more involved in deciding where and when they will be seen by a consultant or specialist. By reducing the time spent waiting to receive their first outpatient appointment, Choose and Book also helps the NHS to measure and manage the 18 week pathway for patients.

“We are committed to ensuring the continued success of Choose and Book,” said Mark Bounds, senior vice president at Atos Healthcare. “We will work with the Department of Health, NHS Connecting for Health and the NHS to ensure that administrative staff, healthcare professionals and patients can easily use the system, that it meets their needs and improves the way care is delivered.”

“We are pleased to continue our support and commitment of the national Choose and Book system through our partnership with Atos Healthcare,” said Don Trigg, managing director for Cerner Limited. “The Choose and Book solution is the culmination of many years of design, development, testing and implementation planning, which has resulted in a functionally rich tool that also is effective in helping to deliver national policies.”

The contract extension announced today extends the initial five year contract signed in 2003.

Atos Origin is an international information technology services company. Its business is turning client vision into results through the application of consulting, systems integration and managed operations. The company’s annual revenues are EUR 5,8 billion and it employs over 50,000 people in 40 countries. Atos Origin is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic Games and has a client base of international blue-chip companies across all sectors. Atos Origin is quoted on the Paris Eurolist Market and trades as Atos Origin, Atos Worldline and Atos Consulting.

About Atos Healthcare
Atos Healthcare, a division of Atos Origin, combines the Company’s expertise in consulting, technology and healthcare to improve the way care is delivered. Services range from lean service transformation, commissioning, hosting and software development, through to disability assessments, occupational health and front line primary care. Atos Healthcare has a team of more than 2500, of whom over 1900 are qualified medical professionals.

About Cerner
Cerner is taking the paper chart out of healthcare, eliminating error, variance and waste in the care process. With more than 6,000 clients worldwide, Cerner is the leading supplier of healthcare information technology. The following are trademarks of Cerner: Cerner and Cerner’s logo. NASDAQ: CERN. For more information about Cerner, please visit our Web site at www.cerner.com.