City of Hope Testing New Communication Link Between Cancer Therapy System and Elekta Electronic Medical Record System

ATLANTA, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ – City of Hope (Duarte, Calif.), a leading research and treatment center for cancer and other diseases, is the first medical center to implement an electronic interface that links its TomoTherapy® Hi-Art® treatment systems with the MOSAIQ® radiation oncology information management system. The connection enables communication between the MOSAIQ and the Hi-Art systems, facilitating access to vital information, such as the patient's treatment verification and documentation, insurance company data, and data and records between clinicians, scientists and outside laboratories involved in the patient's care.

"Essentially, the MOSAIQ-Hi-Art interface aims to improve patient safety and overall workflow. It aids in plan selection on the Hi-Art system and streamlines our department's efficiency by recording delivered treatments and charges," says Jeffrey Wong, M.D., Chairman, Department of Radiation Oncology. "The interface now allows us to schedule patient treatments for the Hi-Art in MOSAIQ and also to transfer and record treatment delivery information from the Hi-Art in the MOSAIQ patient chart. It further facilitates our tracking of the patient's accumulated dose and the capture of charges based on details exported from the treatment machine."

City of Hope used the predecessor to the MOSAIQ system—Multi-Access™—since September 1999, upgrading to MOSAIQ in September 2009. The open systems architecture of MOSAIQ enabled City of Hope to take advantage of a purpose-built interface to its two Hi-Art systems, acquired in 2004 and 2006.

"We felt we needed to further improve workflow and enhance treatment safety throughout the department," Dr. Wong notes. "Moreover, MOSAIQ provides several other advantages to our clinic environment. It's a very mature, time-tested product and affords a flexible platform to interface with technologies from a variety of vendors, which is a unique benefit in the oncology information systems market."

"The ability to partner with City of Hope in the MOSAIQ-Hi-Art interface is another example of Elekta Software's dedication to open systems and vendor-neutral connectivity," says Todd Powell, Senior Vice President, Elekta Software. "The benefit of this philosophy is the assurance of cross-platform flexibility to integrate the most advanced and useful tools to improve patient care."

City of Hope's radiation oncology department treats 110 patients daily. The center is one of only 40 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers nationwide. It is ranked as one of "America's Best Hospitals" in cancer and urology by U.S. News & World Report.

About MOSAIQ®

The MOSAIQ radiation oncology electronic medical record (EMR) was designed to manage all the information found in a paper chart. With sophisticated diagnosis and staging features, order management, patient assessments, physician noting, transcriptions and medical oncology charting, MOSAIQ radiation oncology provides a comprehensive charting solution. With integrated practice management functionality, the system provides a total management solution that can support all members of the cancer care team.

About Elekta

Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated, state-of-the-art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy and radiosurgery, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care.

Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence to both healthcare providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even save patient lives, making the future possible today.

Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 5,000 hospitals globally, and every day more than 100,000 patients receive diagnosis, treatment or follow-up with the help of a solution from the Elekta Group.

Elekta employs around 2,500 employees globally. The corporate headquarter is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb. For more information about Elekta, please visit www.elekta.com.

SOURCE Elekta