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MEMORIAL
HEALTHCARE TO DEPLOY XYLOC MD AS PART OF INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE
QUALITY OF PATIENT CARE
Solution
Provides Convenient, Continuous, and Automatic Security of
Patient Information;
Takes Security Burden Off of Users
Ann
Arbor, Mich., November 11, 2002—
Ensure Technologies, the leader in intelligent digital information
security solutions, today announced that Owosso-based Memorial
Healthcare has selected XyLoc MD as part of a larger
strategic initiative to bring more nurses and other healthcare
providers closer to the patient bedside. Implementation of
this new technology to enhance patient care follows extensive
evaluation, selection and pilot phases of XyLoc MD, and full
deployment is expected in early December of this year.
This
new technology includes the placement of secured personal
computers (PCs) at patient bedsides. Ensure Technologies'
XyLoc MD provides full-time access control for these (and
other) PCs while simultaneously making them easier to use
through automatic logon to Memorial Healthcare's Meditech
patient records software. In fact, Memorial Healthcare will
be the first hospital nationwide to fully implement roaming
capabilities using XyLoc MD and Citrix, enabling healthcare
providers' active sessions to follow them from room-to-room.
XyLoc MD also addresses HIPAA privacy regulations due to go
into effect in April 2003 by ensuring that patient records
are automatically secured as soon as the healthcare provider
steps away from the PC.
Memorial
Healthcare is a 131-bed not-for-profit Michigan hospital and
health system serving a population of 105,000. Its current
initiative proactively addresses the local impact of the current
nation-wide nursing shortage. "As the population ages
and the need for acute care grows, the severity of this shortage
will have serious consequences for all hospitals and health
systems," said Cheryl Peterson, vice president of patient
care services at Memorial Healthcare. "This new technology
increases the efficiency of nursing professionals, keeping
them at the patient's bedside delivering care and enabling
the hospital staff as a whole to further enhance the high
quality, personal care already found at Memorial."
"The
goal of our initiative is not to deploy technology for technology's
sake - it is to enhance patient care. Bedside access to PC-based
records and applications literally brings healthcare providers
closer to patients and enables them to make the best use of
their time and resources," said Tom Ogg, vice president/CIO
of Memorial Healthcare. "With XyLoc MD, the power of
our technology infrastructure will be leveraged by the provider
wearing their XyLoc KeyCard and remembering one password.
This dramatically decreases the burden of compliance with
security policies and lets our providers focus on the patient.
Additionally, the roaming feature using XyLoc MD and Citrix
allows the clinicians secure access to their active session
when moving from one room to another without the hassle of
signing on and off every time they change location."
"We
believe Memorial Healthcare is taking a smart approach to
improving the quality of patient care through the use of technology,"
said Randy Meader, vice president of domestic sales at Ensure.
"Too often organizations deploy technology without considering
its impact on users and their workflow. While Memorial Healthcare
has recognized the value of decentralizing access to patient
information so that more time can be spent bedside with patients,
it has also understood the importance of making those PCs
more secure and easy to use. We are confident that XyLoc MD
will enhance the quality of patient care by freeing healthcare
providers to use new technology more efficiently."
About
XyLoc MD
XyLoc
MD provides full-time access control to PCs and patient data,
continuously authorizing healthcare workers without burdening
them with cumbersome security protocols. Doctors and nurses
at XyLoc-protected facilities have immediate access to patient
data and other information, but XyLoc MD secures their workstations
the moment they step away.
Healthcare
professionals are recognized based on their proximity to departmental
PCs. Users wear unique XyLoc KeyCards (that can also double
as their hospital ID badge) that communicate securely with
proximity detection hardware and sophisticated software residing
on each workstation. A computer is unlocked only after XyLoc
has identified and authenticated a user.
Authentication
can be as easy as walking up to the computer, or as robust
as requiring the user to input their name and password in
addition to possessing the KeyCard. Users need to remember
only one password and with XyLoc's Single Sign On functionality
all of their applications and records will automatically appear
each time they approach a workstation. However, as soon as
the user walks away from the computer, XyLoc MD secures the
PC and the applications until the user returns or another
authorized user approaches.
In instances
where multiple authorized users are in the area, XyLoc MD
allows the appropriate person to select his or her name from
a list of detected users. XyLoc's Secured Kiosk feature allows
multiple users to share a single network account, which results
in fast yet secure access to the network and applications.
XyLoc's Roaming System Access allows healthcare practitioners
to have their applications and records follow them from PC
to PC as they do their rounds. The end result is a security
solution that protects patient records without reducing the
quality of patient care.
About
Memorial Healthcare
Memorial
Healthcare is a 131-bed not-for-profit Michigan hospital and
health system serving a population of 105,000. Memorial Healthcare
offers skilled, compassionate care with state-of-the-art technology
in a wide array of services including cancer care, neurology,
obstetrics, pediatrics, emergency care and rehabilitation.
Surgical services include inpatient and outpatient procedures
in the areas of gastroenterology, general and vascular surgery,
pacemakers and syncope implants, ear, nose and throat, gynecology,
oral/maxillofacial surgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, thoracic
and urology. The hospital has been in existence since 1921
and patients consistently rate their overall satisfaction
at 92% or higher. In 2002, Memorial Healthcare was designated
as one of the nation's Top 100 "Most Wired" health
care systems recognizing Memorial's commitment to providing
the most up-to-date services and technology to patients.
About
Ensure Technologies
Headquartered
in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ensure Technologies (www.ensuretech.com)
is the leader in intelligent digital information security
solutions designed to protect an organization's intellectual
property and physical computing assets from internal security
breaches - conveniently, automatically and transparently.
Ensure's XyLoc products apply the innovative, patented technologies
of full-time access control and proximity-based authentication
to guard corporate data. XyLoc delivers security with convenience
and personalization at leading organizations in healthcare,
financial services, government, manufacturing, and law throughout
the world.
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