USDA Selects Orion Health’s Rhapsody(TM) Integration Engine to Track Animal Diseases; National Animal Health Laboratory Network Monitors Testing for Animal Disease Outbreaks
SANTA MONICA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Aug. 29, 2006–Orion Health, a leading provider of clinical workflow and integration technology for the healthcare sector, announces today that the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal Plant Health Inspection Services, Veterinary Services has selected Orion Health’s Rhapsody Integration Engine to help its National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) integrate test results and track animal diseases.
To proactively monitor livestock for the prevention of deadly and economically damaging diseases, the USDA began establishing the NAHLN in 2002. Approved laboratories across the nation contribute test results to the national system, allowing for the tracking of animal disease and providing critical laboratory data which alerts the national system to animal disease outbreaks and other adverse animal health situations, including bio-terrorism events. Laboratories regularly test for prion or “mad cow” diseases, exotic Newcastle Disease, and Avian Influenza among other diseases.
Orion Health’s Rhapsody Integration Engine will be used to extract approved information from state animal health laboratories information systems, reformat the data into identified NAHLN standardized data and report information back to Veterinary Services.
“Rhapsody will help us overcome the challenges inherent in managing huge volumes of data in multiple formats and could mean a faster response if an outbreak occurs,” said Paul Viskovich, Orion Health President North American Operations.
“The NAHLN program is of significant importance to the future security of U.S. agriculture.”
“Rhapsody will help integrate data from independent labs, increasing the USDA’s monitoring ability and enhancing US bio-security.”
Consistently rated the number one healthcare integration engine by KLAS, Rhapsody has been designed to meet the present and future needs of health integration. The Rhapsody Engine manages and streamlines message exchange between hospital applications, databases and external systems.
About the National Animal Health Laboratory Network
The U.S. livestock and food sectors, which account for $100 billion in annual cash receipts annually, are under continual threat by widespread or limited outbreaks of foreign or uncontrolled animal disease. Since 2002, those assets have been protected by the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), created through the cooperation of CSREES, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians. The NAHLN coordinates the veterinary diagnostic laboratory capacity of state animal health laboratories and their extensive infrastructure — facilities, equipment, and professional expertise. More information can be found at: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/ag_biosecurity/in_focus/apb_if_healthlab.html (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser’s address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)
About Orion Health
Orion Health’s easy-to-use applications and tools integrate and enhance existing healthcare information systems and deliver secure, universal access to information. The innovative company delivers an end-to-end information technology (IT) integration platform that brings together clinical content to improve clinician effectiveness and the quality of patient care.
Orion’s partners include leading health and IT vendors such as Oracle Corporation, Philips Medical Systems, LogicaCMG, Hewlett Packard, McKesson, and Sierra Systems. Orion also has more than 1,000 clients worldwide including Johns Hopkins Hospital, New York State Department of Health, Central Washington Hospital, US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and many more. More information can be found at www.orionhealth.com.
