Press Releases

Warrington, PA – October 13, 2009 – With initial shipments of the much anticipated H1N1 vaccine arriving in doctors’ offices last week, Connexin Software today announced it is delivering an expedited update of its Office Practicum™ pediatric EMR with features to support the special forecasting, administration, and billing requirements of the new vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has targeted children for the first wave of immunizations, causing grave concern in pediatric offices across the country about how to handle unprecedented demand for a vaccine.

“The new features were developed in conjunction with our physician Advisory Board to handle large volumes of patients while ensuring attention to detail and quality associated with the patient experience,” stated Gregory H. Anderson, Connexin CFO. “We added forecasting rules to ensure vaccines are given on the correct schedule, administrative tools to manage inventory and report to public health agencies, and billing templates to ensure correct coding of medical claims.”

“We have been swamped with parents calling and bringing in their children,” said Dr. Edna A. Pytlak of Brooklyn, NY. “On Monday we administered over 125 flu immunizations in our three-doctor office. The new features help us handle patients quickly without sacrificing medical safety or quality. We are required to report all immunizations promptly to the Department of Health, and the system sends them electronically so we don’t have to do it by hand. At these volumes, it’s a huge time-saver.”

H1N1 vaccine forecasting is complicated because doses are available in multiple forms (shots and nasal spray), and patients under the age of ten must return for a second dose 21-28 days later. In addition, attention must be paid to other vaccines given recently – including seasonal flu – that may interfere with this schedule. Otherwise the immunization may be less effective.

H1N1 billing rules are equally complicated because the American Medical Association and Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services only defined special codes for this purpose on September 28. By that time, many insurance payers had already announced their own rules. Doctors must follow correct guidelines for each payer in order to get paid for adminstering the vaccine. (The vaccine is given to doctors free of charge by the Federal government and cannot be resold.)

“It was quite a whirlwind around here for the past two weeks,” said Anderson, “but it was worth it. Pediatrics First™ is more than a mission statement to us; it’s a way of life. We knew our clients would be inundated early, and we wanted to be sure they were prepared. We’re proud to be doing our part to help doctors respond to this public health crisis.”

About Connexin Software, Inc.
Connexin Software, Inc. is dedicated to improving the pediatric patient experience. Office Practicum™, our award winning EMR software built by pediatricians and for pediatricians, offers you the pediatric power tools you need to manage health records in your practice.

Warrington, PA – July 31, 2009 – Today’s digital environment leaves little room for paper notes and files. And the health care industry is following suit.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provides approximately $19 billion for Health Information Technology (HIT) incentives over the next five years. A set of standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for electronic exchange and usage of health information will be set by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and required by providers implementing EHR systems in order to secure stimulus incentives.

“The country is clearly at a critical point in advancing health IT to a level that has significant implications for the delivery of health care”, said Susan Kressly, M.D., a practicing pediatrician from Warrington, PA.

Kressly and over 200 other volunteers from across the country recently met in Chicago to kickoff the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology’s (CCHIT®) latest round of electronic health record (EHR) certification program development aimed at accelerating the adoption of EHRs. “As a pediatrician with five years of EHR experience, I’m excited to return as a member of the Child Health workgroup and have an opportunity to make sure that the unique health IT needs of children are acknowledged and addressed,” Kressly commented.

And doctors aren’t the only ones supporting CCHIT’s mission. EHR software providers are eager to make adopting EHR’s easier for doctors and practices.

“In order for doctors to feel comfortable adopting EHR systems into their practices, they need confidence that the technology is robust, comprehensive, and interoperable,” said Gregory H. Anderson, Treasurer and CFO of Connexin Software, Inc., and volunteering member of CCHIT’s Advanced Clinical Decision Support workgroup. “As a key architect of the clinical decision support built into Office Practicum, I believe it is important to understand the needs of physicians and help develop guidelines and standards to support evolving Meaningful Use standards in the years ahead.”

Working directly with physicians and staying involved in healthcare technology organizations like the CCHIT, Connexin remains ahead of the curve in developing powerful, interoperable EHR software with unique features developed specifically for pediatricians.

About Connexin Software, Inc.
Connexin Software, Inc. is dedicated to improving the pediatric patient experience. Office PracticumTM, our award winning EMR software built by pediatricians and for pediatricians, offers you the pediatric power tools you need to manage health records in your practice. For more information on Office PracticumTM, visit www.officepracticum.com.

About CCHIT
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®) is an independent, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that has been recognized by the federal government as an official certification body for electronic health records. Its mission is to accelerate the adoption of robust, interoperable health information technology. For more information, visit http://cchit.org.

“CCHIT®” and “CCHIT Certified®” are registered trademarks of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology.

Warrington, PA – April 20, 2009 – The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT®) today announced that Connexin Software Inc.’s product Office Practicum® 8.1 is a conditionally CCHIT Certified® 08 Ambulatory EHR (additionally certified for Child Health) pending advanced ePrescribing and operational use verification. Ambulatory electronic health records (EHRs) are designed for physician offices and clinics where most Americans get their healthcare. The Commission – a private, nonprofit organization – is the Recognized Certification Body in the United States for certifying health information technology products.

In the third year of the program’s operation, the criteria and testing have been significantly updated again to provide physicians with more assurance that certified products will meet their needs for functionality, interoperability and security. The Commission added 19 criteria to the 200 required in 2007. Those changes were focused on the ability to exchange patient information with other systems. A CCHIT Certified 08 Ambulatory EHR ensures:

• Additional electronic prescribing features: access to the patient’s medication history, formulary, and eligibility. Connexin Software is actively working with SureScripts to certify these features and expects to deliver them by early June 2009, at which time Office Practicum will qualify for full CCHIT certification.
• Better and safer medication dosing, adjusted for patient weight and other factors.
• Better ability to prevent adverse reactions due to drug interactions or allergies.
• Use of standard formats to exchange basic patient information for continuity of care.
• Enhanced ability to view X-rays and other diagnostic images.
• Better management of patient consents and authorizations.
• Increased use of standard formats when receiving and storing laboratory results.

“CCHIT certification is a critical milestone in the development of Office Practicum,” said Fredrick R. Pytlak, Connexin Chairman and CEO. “It is a tangible sign of the maturity and stability of the product, and of our commitment to standards and interoperability. We look forward to maintaining certification in the future and staying at the cutting edge of pediatric practice needs.”

About Connexin Software, Inc.
Connexin Software, Inc. is the leading provider of electronic medical records systems for use in pediatric clinical settings. Since 1995, Connexin has provided innovative solutions to hundreds of medical practices in over 40 states, ranging from solo providers to hospital-based clinics. The privately held company maintains primary offices in New York City and suburban Philadelphia.
“Office Practicum®” is a registered mark of Connexin Software, Inc.

About CCHIT
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT®) is a private, nonprofit organization that has been named by the federal government as the Recognized Certification Body for health information technology. Its mission is to accelerate the adoption of health information technology by creating a credible, sustainable certification program. The certification requirements are based on widely accepted industry standards and involve the work of hundreds of expert volunteers and input from a variety of stakeholders throughout the health care industry.

More information on CCHIT and CCHIT Certified® products is available at http://www.cchit.org/ and http://www.ehrdecisions.com/.

“CCHIT®” and “CCHIT Certified®” are registered marks of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology.

Media Contacts:
Gregory H. Anderson, Connexin Software, Inc.
212-366-6987 x102
greg@connexinsoftware.com

John Morrissey, CCHIT
312-674-4934
jmorrissey@cchit.org

Warrington, PA – October 11, 2008 – Connexin Software, Inc., publisher of the award-winning Office Practicum® pediatric electronic medical records system, today announced that it has become the first EMR vendor to pilot real-time bidirectional connectivity with the New York Citywide Immunization Registry (CIR).

“Immunization-related activities consume a lot of pediatric office resources,” said Gregory H. Anderson, Connexin Treasurer and CFO. “Much of that effort goes into building and maintaining vaccination histories. With this interface, a new patient’s immunization chart can be populated instantly with a single click – no transcription required. And submitting back to the registry is completely automatic.”

Most immunization registries now offer a combination of batch and/or interactive submission of vaccination records, plus a web portal to retrieve the information. This approach offers few workflow benefits over paper chart transcription, because that information – though often more complete and up-to-date than paper records - still must be hand-entered into EMR systems. By adopting HL7 standards and delivering delimited data through a real-time web service, the new CIR system transcends this problem by allowing for direct computer-to-computer exchange.

“Time and again, pediatricians tell us that they support universal immunization and want to do their part to disseminate information about vaccination records,” said Anderson. “But it has to be incorporated seamlessly into their office workflow, and they want to get something back for their effort. The CIR real-time interface is a huge step in that direction. Our New York City clients are eager to work with it.”

As the leader in pediatric EMRs, Office Practicum has a strong history of support for immunization registries. It was one of the first programs to provide a batch interface to the original CIR in 1997 and remains among the largest submitters of clinical vaccine records today. Subsequent enhancements have brought the total number of supported registries to more than 20. In addition, Connexin has participated in AAP/AIRA and CDC conferences to encourage broader adoption of standards and increased rates of provider participation with immunization registries.

Real-time connectivity will be demonstrated at the AAP National Conference and Exposition in Boston, Massachusetts, from October 11 – 13, 2008. Initial commercial delivery is expected immediately upon CIR production availability.

Contacts:
Gregory H. Anderson, Connexin Software, Inc.
212-366-6987 x102
greg@connexinsoftware.com

Amy Metroka, New York Citywide Immunization Registry
212-676-2323
ametroka@health.nyc.gov

About Connexin Software, Inc.
Connexin Software, Inc. is the leading provider of electronic medical records systems for use in pediatric clinical settings. Since 1995, Connexin has provided innovative solutions to hundreds of medical practices in over 40 states, ranging from solo providers to hospital-based clinics. The privately held company maintains primary offices in New York City and suburban Philadelphia.

About the New York Citywide Immunization Registry
The New York Citywide Immunization Registry provides a central record-keeping system to track the immunization status of individual children and to monitor immunization levels in the population in a timely manner. First established in 1997, the CIR makes immunization records available to individuals, parents, legal guardians or custodians, health care providers, health plans, schools, and other agencies concerned with health to help ensure that NYC residents receive all required immunizations and are, thereby, protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Warrington, PA – October 11, 2008 – Connexin Software, Inc., publisher of the award-winning Office Practicum® pediatric electronic medical records system, today announced that it has become the first EMR vendor to deliver licensed content from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to its users.

“As EMRs mature, physicians are moving beyond basic functionality and looking for decision-making resources right at the point of care,” said Fredrick Pytlak, Connexin Chairman and CEO. “With Office Practicum’s focus on pediatric requirements, the breadth and depth of the renowned AAP clinical content is a natural fit.”

“Our members have been telling us that in order to use our resources most effectively, they need to move beyond paper,” said Jill Ferguson, AAP Director of Marketing. “This agreement will help pediatricians access the expert knowledge they need to make decisions and advise patients as they write their medical records.”

The licensed content consists of two parts. The first, called “AAP Essential Guidelines,” consists of the Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents (3rd Edition) and Pediatric Clinical Practice Guidelines and Policies (PCPGP). The Bright Futures guidelines will be adapted as a series of templates, surveys, anticipatory guidance, and care plans that will allow providers to conduct well visits in accordance with current Academy recommendations and best practices. PCPGP content, which includes AAP’s clinical practice guidelines, policy statements, clinical reports and technical reports, will be delivered in its original form. PCPGP material will be indexed so that it can be accessed in a context-sensitive fashion.

The second part of the agreement covers the subscription content of the AAP Red Book® Online (RBO), Patient Education Online (PEO), and brand new Pediatric Care Online® (PCO) web sites. Connexin will act as a reseller for these services and hold a blanket license so that its users can access the sites without logging in. In addition, the content of these sites will be pre-indexed within Office Practicum. Key words and diagnostic codes will automatically generate point-and-click lists of the best available subscription content for the problem at hand.

Integration of the licensed content will be demonstrated at the AAP National Conference and Exposition in Boston, Massachusetts, from October 11 – 13, 2008. Initial commercial delivery is expected by year-end.

Contacts:
Gregory H. Anderson, Connexin Software, Inc.
212-366-6987 x102
greg@connexinsoftware.com

Kim FitzSimmons, American Academy of Pediatrics
847-434-4342
kfitzsimmons@aap.org

About Connexin Software, Inc.
Connexin Software, Inc. is the leading provider of electronic medical records systems for use in pediatric clinical settings. Since 1995, Connexin has provided innovative solutions to hundreds of medical practices in over 40 states, ranging from solo providers to hospital-based clinics. The privately held company maintains primary offices in New York City and suburban Philadelphia.

About the American Academy of Pediatrics
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.