First Consulting Group (FCG) Launches FirstGateways(TM), a Unique and IntegratedClinician Portal, at HIMSS

LONG BEACH, Calif., Feb. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First Consulting Group (FCG), announces the launch of FirstGateways(TM) today, a breakthrough product that can improve how clinicians access and use aggregated clinical information; resulting in improved patient safety and decreased costs for hospitals and integrated delivery networks (IDNs).

FirstGateways is a Web-enabled, clinician portal that is designed to aggregate real-time data from existing applications, clinical systems and other data sources from any setting -- clinic, office or home.

By providing an enterprise-wide view of clinical data at the point-of- care, clinicians will have relevant patient data available in an easy-to-use interface, enabling informed decision-making that can lead to improved patient safety. FirstGateways can also help lower costs by reducing redundancy of test and procedures, preventing unnecessary re-admissions and enabling disease management efforts.

"Our experience indicates the tremendous value to patient safety efforts and improved clinical outcomes by making patient medical information available across the continuum of care in real time, whenever and wherever it is needed," said Joe Casper, senior vice president of FCG's FirstGateways unit. "We believe that improved care is driven by enabling access to the right information, at the right time, in the right setting."

One of the unique features of the product is the standardized view it provides the user. The data can be integrated seamlessly into one user interface from across multiple and disparate applications. FirstGateways can extend the life of legacy systems as well, resulting in significant cost savings for a hospital or integrated delivery network.

The FirstGateways product also offers its user's access to national data feeds from the Patient Safety Institute and Quest Diagnostics, something no other product can offer. Its unique features, ease-of-use, and seamless integration of data can also accelerate the adoption of technology by physicians.

FirstGateways was recently selected by a large academic medical center to be its clinician portal. The FirstGateways product, now being implemented at the medical center and across the five other affiliated hospitals in the system is expected to dramatically enhance physician communication and efficiency by providing aggregated clinical information and other crucial data from more than 12 different information systems through a common user interface.