Compuware Covisint to Securely Connect, Integrate Michigan’s Thumb Health Information System

Covisint to Link Hospitals in Michigan’s “Thumb” Area, Enabling Faster Clinical Decision-making and Improving Healthcare Delivery, Costs

DETROIT -- Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ: CPWR) today announced that its Covisint subsidiary will electronically connect hospitals in Michigan’s “thumb” region, now called Michigan Thumb Health Information System (THIS). The Covisint solution will enable the secure sharing of patient information electronically, demonstrating how critical-care access hospitals--and the hospitals to which they transfer patients--use technology to deliver better care.

Participating THIS hospitals will initially include Deckerville Community Hospital, Harbor Beach Community Hospital and Mercy Hospital-Port Huron, but the scope of this initiative is intended to more than double--growing to several other critical access and tertiary hospitals in the region. Additionally, THIS has been “scalably” designed, meaning that the network will be expanded to later include access to and from other regional healthcare systems.

“Physicians and hospitals together face a common goal: providing the best care to the patient,” said Ed Gamache, CEO Deckerville and Harbor Beach Community Hospitals. “It’s a bonus when the best way to provide the best care is also the most efficient and effective way. Covisint enables physicians, healthcare systems and even healthcare regions to achieve a new level of integration and an outstanding level of care while reassuring patients that their information is safe, secure and accessible.”

Different healthcare systems often use different technologies, meaning that providers also must view patient information on unfamiliar screens. These translation challenges can cause confusion, delays and other problems in delivering quality patient care in a timely fashion. Covisint addresses this, enabling access to each hospital’s electronic medical records that translate clinical and administrative patient information from multiple systems into a single and familiar view. This is particularly important for patients being transferred between hospitals, as in the case of Michigan Thumb Health Information System. These hospitals have the option to simply view the patient’s information or to store it into their own electronic medical record (EMR), and physicians will be able to easily print desired information.

“Covisint is technology-neutral, which is key to integrating multiple technologies with multiple healthcare systems regardless of size--rural, metropolitan or otherwise,” said Brett Furst, Covisint Vice President of Healthcare. “This partnership shares real-time patient information and positions these hospitals with fingertip access to the latest data they need to do their jobs successfully.”

Covisint also recently announced partnerships electronically connecting physicians to healthcare information in Michigan, as well as statewide backbones in Minnesota and Tennessee. These partnerships improve the delivery, security and efficiency of healthcare information as society moves toward reducing the burden and inefficiencies associated with paper-based systems, which, according to many estimates, still account for approximately 75 percent of all recorded healthcare data.

Covisint’s on-demand collaboration platform helps virtual communities securely access, use and share time sensitive information. Covisint solves business problems by streamlining and automating processes globally--connecting state and nationally based communities, organizations and systems in the healthcare, automotive and financial services industries, as well as the public sector. Learn more about Covisint at www.covisint.com.
Compuware Corporation

Compuware Corporation makes IT rock around the world, helping CIOs optimize IT performance to achieve business goals. Compuware solutions accelerate the development, improve the quality and enhance the performance of critical business systems while enabling CIOs to align and govern the entire IT portfolio, increasing efficiency, cost control and employee productivity throughout the IT organization. Founded in 1973, Compuware serves the world’s leading IT organizations, including 92 percent of the Fortune 50 companies. Learn more about Compuware at http://www.compuware.com.