Click on the titles below for more information on these press releases,
company announcements, and informational articles:
3/15/00: LRSweb Provides Web-Based Gateway to Legacy Systems
2/12/00: LRSweb Supports CPU-CPU Links on the Web
1/25/00: Medical Policy and Compliance Added to LRSweb
6/21/99: LRSweb Introduced at CLMA
3/15/99: LRS 4.0 Released.
6/15/98: UMMC's LRS Volume Up, Fewer Errors.
5/12/98: Medical Policy Server (MPS) Beta Scheduled.
LRSweb Provides Web-Based Gateway to Legacy Systems
March 15, 2000
WEYMOUTH, MA -- A secure interface with the World Wide Web provides a
low-cost, user-friendly gateway for remote users to access a hospital or
laboratory system without the expense of dedicated lines or a bank
of dial-up modems.
Using standard PCs and an Internet Browser, remote clients can directly access
mainframe and legacy systems without a dedicated connection to the host
institution, and without the need for several dial-up modems. Viewing and update
capabilities may be controlled by a single admninistrator's interface, which
is also accessed via the Web.
Metricom's proprietary LRSweb architecture provides a completely
secure environment for bi-directional, point-to-point communications over the
World Wide Web. This offers unprecented flexibility for connecting and exchanging
data between systems located across the street, across the country, or
anywhere in the world that has access to the Web.
According to Anne Wood, Vice President of Marketing at Metricom: "This product
allows the hospital or laboratory to provide limited access to small physician
offices, clinics, and other affiliated groups, to information stored
in the HIS or LIS, using their existing connections to the Internet. Since
dedicated lines or connections are not required, the cost is substantially less
and the maintenance and support requirements are minimal."
"This is a product can be interfaced to virtually any existing HIS and LIS systems,
including older character-based applications running on terminals. It is equally suited
to large, diverse health systems as well as the smaller community hospital," she said.
contact info@metri.com
LRSweb Supports CPU-CPU Links on the Web
February 12, 2000
WEYMOUTH, MA -- The new LRSwebLINK product from Metricom is
targeted at the many hospitals, laboratories, clinics, and group practices that need
to establish secure CPU-to-CPU connections for exchanging clinical data, but need
to avoid the expense of dedicated ISDN, Frame Relay or similar connections.
Based on Metricom's proprietary LRSweb architecture, the LRSwebLINK
product provides a completely secure environment for bi-directional communications over the World
Wide Web. A typical installation will only require standard Intel/Windows ("Wintel")
systems at each site, with access to the Web. The LRSwebLINK software
handles all of the encryption and security surrounding the data, and transfers
data in either or both directions. Standard interfaces to the host systems
may be used, such as HL/7, ASTM, or X.12, or custom scripted interfaces may be used to
submit and retrieve data from the host systems.
"The LRSwebLINK can obviously save money on the connections costs," said Anne Wood,
Vice President of Marketing, "but the real bonus is the ease of maintenance and
support. When the inevitable changes occur on the host systems, the LRSwebLink
software can be updated and replaced from a remote location, avoiding the necessity
of costly site visits to maintain the interfaces."
The LRSwebLINK product is a "firewall-friendly" system, meaning that only outbound
connections are required from the institutions, using standard Web protocols. Unlike
traditional Web software, however, the LRSwebLINK connection transfers data point-to-point,
so that the data is only visible to the other end of the LRSwebLINK connection. The
security layers added by LRSwebLINK provide exceptional protection and privacy for
the data being transferred.
Although the product utilizes the same architecture as the rest of the LRSweb
suite of products, it can be installed as a standalone system, and is compatible with
any TCP/IP network that supports Web access.
contact info@metri.com
Medical Policy and Compliance Added to LRSweb
January 25, 2000
WEYMOUTH, MA -- Based on the growing importance of gathering the
medically correct diagnosis at the point of creating a requisition,
Metricom has integrated its Medical Policy Server as a standard
feature in LRSweb, its web-based laboratory outreach system.
The Medical Center's laboratory outreach program selected the
Metricom LRS and ICS Middleware platforms to support its extensive
outreach program, and also served as a pilot site for the initial
release (Version 1.0) of the Medical Policy Server (MPS)
The MPS interface has been seamlessly integrated into the electronic
requisitioning application (LRSweb), so that medical necessity
issues are tested at the time the requisition is being completed.
This allows the earliest possible alert to the nurses, technicians,
and clinicians that the tests being ordered are affected by medical
necessity requirements or other laboratory policies.
Since the MPS operates as an application server on the UMMC Wide Area
Network, staff at the central laboratory can update medical policies
at any time, and the changes are immediately reflected on all remote
applications. This means that a change in Medicare policies (LMRPs),
managed care, Medical Center, laboratory, or billing policies are
immediately effective on all electronic requisitions placed through
the LRS system.
Use of the MPS is expected to have a significant impact on the number
of reimbursement rejections encountered because of insufficient data on
requisitions. During pilot testing, a single site was identified at which
88% of the Medicare-paid requisitions failed medical-necessity
requirements for diagnosis coding. The MetricomMPS Medical Policy Server
automatically identified all of these incorrect requisitions,
potentially saving thousands of dollars of reimbursement rejections
and lost hours.
The Web-based version of the Medical Policy Server includes an
improved 'Policy-Builder' application, a stand-alone 'Policy-Checker'
application for testing any variety of conditions, and a faster
policy-scanning algorithm.
contact info@metri.com
LRSweb Introduced at CLMA
June 21, 1999
WEYMOUTH, MA -- The Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA) annual
convention in Dallas provided the venue for Metricom to introduce its newest
release of LRS, its laboratory requisitioning and results reporting system.
This release, called LRSweb, offers Web-based laboratory requisitioning,
results reporting and supplies ordering with integrated Medical Policy
and Scheduling Components.
Several conference seminars and workshops discussed successful Laboratory
outreach programs, and the use of the Internet in Healthcare was a popular
theme. A larger number of lab managers are seeking to increase
their outreach business in an efficient and cost effective manner, and
providing automated services over the Internet has become increasingly
recognized as an innovative and practical approach.
Web-based applications provide flexible implementation and support as well
as reduced hardware and connection costs.
LRSweb uses a secure, encrypted tunneling protocol for transferring all messages and
transactions between the client's system and the LRSweb server, insuring the
privacy of patient information. Many attendee expressed interest in interfaces
to a variety of systems, particularly Meditech. Although the LRSweb product
includes standard HL/7 interfaces, Metricom uses a special scripting
tool to create custom interfaces to systems like Meditech that do not offer
HL/7 interfaces,
Anne Wood, Vice President of Marketing at Metricom, noted the interest that
LRSweb received. "We offer a viable solution for both large organizations
looking to increase their market share while controlling support costs, and also
for the smaller laboratory who needs a low-cost product to automate their
current outreach programs. Individual laboratories need a product that is not
only affordable but also can be customized to meet the organization's needs."
contact info@metri.com
3/15/99: LRS 4.0 Released
LRS 4.0 Released
March 15, 1999
WEYMOUTH, MA -- Metricom, Inc. has released the newest version
of its Laboratory outreach product, LRSweb. LRSweb offers all
of the features of the existing LRS with the added feature of
being totally Web deployed. The web-based approach offers a
variety of advantages to the organization and its outreach
clients including increased flexibility, reduced installation
and maintenance support, decreased hardware and connection costs
and ease of use and secure transaction processing.
The new product consists of three components; a 'middleware system',
web-based client-side application software, and automated interfaces
to various HIS and LIS systems. The middleware system provides a
platform for the interfaces to host computer systems and interacts
with the client-side applications to provide a variety of secure,
interactive transactions over the Internet. It is also responsible
for maintaining files of authorized client sites and individual
users as well as current and historical transaction information
for reporting purposes.
The web-based client software includes automated requisitioning,
results reporting and supplies ordering in addition to Scheduling
and Medical Policy components that are entirely web-deployed. This
means that the software may be implemented on hospital-supplied
workstations or operated on any compatible workstation using the
Internet Explorer application. The web-based application and
middleware server design provides a platform that will allow
implementing outreach clients immediately, and will support an
aggressive deployment schedule to new clients. Costs to the
organization are reduced because additional hardware and connection
fees are eliminated. Support costs are also decreased because
installation, training, and ongoing maintenance and support
issues are handled remotely and in 'real-time'.
Various 'seamless' custom or standard HL7 interfaces between
the 'Host' system and the client software are used to automate
the registration, billing, medical policy, lab order and result
reporting processes and can be easily updated as requirements change.
A web-based requisitioning and results reporting system is a
real money-saver for the entire organization. In addition to the
reduced support and hardware costs that running the system over
the internet provides, electronic requisitions have proven to be
far more accurate and complete, requiring fewer callbacks in
the laboratory and billing departments, faster reimbursement, and
less waste in lab operations.
contact info@metri.com
UMMC's LRS Volume Up, Fewer Errors.
June 15, 1998
WORCESTER, MA -- The University of Massachusetts Medical Center's
installation of MetricomLRS is being expanded to cover additional
hospitals. The Medical Center's laboratory outreach proram
continues to add new hospitals, medical groups, and other clients
to its growing list of LRS users. Throughout the growth, Metricom's
customized 'LRS Middleware' system has provided non-stop, automated
interfaces for Master Patient Index, automated registration, lab ordering,
and clinical extracts.
As new hospitals and clinics begin submitting electronic requisitions with
the LRS system, patient demographics are automatically retrieved from the
Medical Center's Master Patient Index, reducing the paperwork burden and
improving the accuracy of insurance-paid ('third-party') requisitions.
Each LRS-based requisition is automatically registered in the Medical Center's
ADT system, and the order is placed in the Laboratory System. When specimens
arrive, the LRS-produced barcode label is scanned, bringing all the information
to the accessioning screen for verification. With most of the entry performed,
the accessioning workload is greatly reduced and accuracy is improved.
Electronic requisitions are real monyey-savers for the entire organization:
they have proven to be far more accurate and complete, requiring fewer
callbacks in the laboratory and billing departments, faster reimbursement,
and less waste in lab operations.
contact info@metri.com
Medcial Policy Server (MPS) 2.0 Beta Scheduled
May 12, 1998 ROCKLAND, MA -- Metricom's newest release of its Medical Policy Server
is scheduled to begin beta testing this month at
the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, MA.
The Medical Center's laboratory outreach program selected the Metricom LRS
and ICS Middleware platforms to support its extensive outreach program,
and also served as a pilot site for the initial release (Version 1.0) of the
Medical Policy Server (MPS)
The MPS interface has been seamlessly integrated into the electronic requisitioning
application (LRS), so that medical necessity issues are tested at the time the
requisition is being filled out. This allows the earliest possible alert to
the nurses, technicians, and clinicians that the tests being ordered are
affected by medical necessity (or other laboratory policies).
Since the MPS operates as an application server on the UMMC Wide Area Network,
staff at the central laboratory can update medical policies at any time,
and the changese are immediately reflected on all remote applications. This
means that a change in Medicare policies (LMRPs), managed care, Medical Center,
laboratory, or billing policies are immediately effective on all
electronic requisitions placed through the LRS system.
Use of the MPS is expected to have a significant impact on the number of
reimbursement rejections encountered because of insufficient data on
requisitions. During pilot testing, a single site was identified at which
88% of the Medicare-paid requisitions failed medical-necessity requirements
for diagnosis coding. The MetricomMPS Medical Policy Server automatically
identified all of these incorrecet requisitions, potentially saving thousands
of dollars of reimbursement rejections and lost hours.
Version 2.0 of the Medical Policy Server includes an improved 'Policy-Builder'
application, a stand-alone 'Policy-Checker' application for testing any
variety of conditions, and a faster policy-scanning algorithm. In addition,
the MPS can simultaneously operate as a network application server and an Windows
OLE automation server. This allows application developers to include the
Medical Policy Server as part of stand-alone applications distributed to
Windows client workstations.
contact info@metri.com
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