An HIT

Phase Forward (Waltham, Massachusetts), a provider of data management solutions for clinical trials and drug safety, reported a multi-year, multi-million dollar license and services agreement with Novo Nordisk (Princeton, New Jersey), expanding their existing relationship.

Novo Nordisk said it plans to use Phase Forward's InForm electronic data capture (EDC) product as the default system across all clinical trial phases, from Phases I through IV.

Since signing an application service provider (ASP) arrangement in mid-2006, Novo Nordisk said it has integrated global InForm studies with internal systems. Novo Nordisk said it is now using InForm to support trials in more than 30 countries.

Henrik Lynge, head of Clinical System Management at Novo Nordisk, said, "InForm's ability to easily integrate with other in-house systems and the product's scalability have been crucial to the implementation ..."

In other agreements and contracts news:

• SunTech Medical (Morrisville, North Carolina) reported a partnership with Medifacts International (Rockville, Maryland) for the SunTech 247 Diagnostic Station to be included in Medifacts' clinical hemodynamic capabilities.

The SunTech 247, an automated office blood pressure (BP) monitor with optional temperature and pulse oximetry modules, will be used by Medifacts to provide clinical grade BP monitoring, enabling small- or large-scale clinical trials in clinic and home environments. SunTech said it also will provide the company with additional telemedicine capabilities in the future.

• WakeMed Health & Hospitals (Raleigh, North Carolina) said it has launched the RadarFind (Morrisville, North Carolina) Real Time Location System (RTLS) at its WakeMed Cary Hospital.

Designed for hospitals by healthcare professionals, the RadarFind RTLS system integrates with existing hospital infrastructure and operations, while functioning independently of a hospital's critical WiFi network.

The updated RadarView software extends capability to indicate when equipment is temporarily out of service for repairs. This new software status feature can also historically track equipment maintenance activity, providing numerous benefits for clinical engineering staff.

• QuadraMed (Reston, Virginia) reported an agreement with e-MDs (Austin, Texas) to enable QuadraMed's hospital clients to offer an interoperable, ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) and practice management solution to affiliated physician group practices.

QuadraMed, a provider of IT solutions for hospitals, and e-MDs, a provider of physician office EHR and practice management (PM) solutions, have entered into an agreement that is intended to help hospitals more easily reach out to independent physicians using information technology.

"QuadraMed's outstanding acute care QCPR program, coupled with their industry-leading EMPI (enterprise master patient index), makes them an ideal inpatient partner for e-MDs," said Michael Stearns, MD, president/CEO of e-MDs. "Secure, accurate and updated healthcare information will be available to physicians across the continuum of care. Healthcare communities looking to take advantage of the EHR incentives within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the Stark Antitrust Safe Harbor Act will benefit greatly from the partnership. This initiative from QuadraMed and e-MDs will help these physicians and other healthcare organizations meet their enterprise-wide needs for connected and certified health information technology."

"Many of the 83% of physicians without EHRs are in small practices that haven't invested in technology due to cost barriers and lack of interoperability," said James Peebles, interim president/CEO of QuadraMed. "This relationship delivers a cost-effective, interoperable solution suite for the ambulatory market that supports high-quality, cost-effective patient care while strengthening hospital relationships with referring physicians."

• Montefiore Medical Center's IT subsidiary, Emerging Health Information Technology (both Yonkers, New York), has inked a multi-year hosting agreement with North Shore-LIJ Health System, the largest healthcare provider in New York State. Emerging Health's Data Management Center (DMC) in Yonkers, New York will provide support for a portion of North Shore-LIJ's computer network which includes 15 hospitals, 17 long-term care facilities, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, three trauma centers, five home health agencies, a hospice network and dozens of outpatient centers across Queens, Long Island and Staten Island. In addition to hosting, the two organizations will be working together to leverage resources and technology between the two healthcare leaders.

Montefiore built Emerging Health's DMC in 2002. The DMC boasts multiple levels of power redundancy including diesel generators, best-of-breed UPS systems and power distribution units to ensure uninterrupted power supply even in the unlikely event of a sustained power failure. It features precision air-conditioning systems that closely monitor and regulate the ambient temperature and relative humidity of the environment as well as raised flooring, fire detection and water-sensing technology.