UPMC Adopts TheraDoc System to Improve Infection Reporting and Patient Safety

SALT LAKE CITY -- The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is implementing a suite of clinical decision-support software provided by TheraDoc®, Inc. Already a leader in patient care and safety, UPMC will be able to further automate data collection to improve patient outcomes, accelerate infection control and streamline infection reporting required by the state of Pennsylvania.

Known for using advanced information technologies to transform health care, UPMC is implementing TheraDoc's Expert System Platform® (ESP), Antibiotic Assistant®, Infection Control Assistant(TM) and Intervention Assistant(TM) to improve information available to clinicians at the point of care.

UPMC has also made a significant investment in TheraDoc and will work with the company to add new capabilities to its products. UPMC's investment is part of its broader strategy to nurture and create businesses and commercial partnerships that leverage the medical center's health care, technology and management expertise. Through its Office of Strategic Business Initiatives, UPMC's commercialization efforts will create new revenue streams that help to support its core patient care and research missions.

UPMC conducted an extensive search for technology that would enable efficient compliance with increasing federal and state infection reporting requirements.  With the most comprehensive solution for automating such reporting, TheraDoc also provides tools to proactively reduce and prevent healthcare-associated infections.  "TheraDoc stood out with its real-time infection data and decision-making tools that quickly show important trends and improve care for individual patients," said Tami Merryman, vice president for UPMC's Center for Quality Improvement and Innovation.

At UPMC, TheraDoc's software will automate infection surveillance and provide seamless access to historical and emerging patient information   on-site and in real-time. It will document and alert clinicians to changes in patient status and push information to the point of care, including therapeutic recommendations supported by evidence-based medical knowledge.

Stan Pestotnik, president and co-founder at TheraDoc, stated, "We are honored to support UPMC's mission to provide outstanding patient care and shape tomorrow's health system."  Pestotnik noted that TheraDoc's software would help UPMC maintain its high standards of care by increasing its power to significantly improve patient safety, decrease medical errors and reduce associated costs. He further stated, "With Pennsylvania at the center of a nation responding to the problem of healthcare-associated infections, UPMC will be able to better manage and prevent infectious diseases, as well as meet mandatory state reporting requirements."

TheraDoc currently licenses its expert system technology to 114 facilities in 23 states.

Source: TheraDoc, Inc.