New Dell Solution Helps Hospitals Open Up Benefits of EMR to More Physicians and Patients

* Dell Bridges Healthcare`s Digital Divide: Patient Info Locked in Paper
Records, EMR That is Beyond Reach of Most Practices, Hospitals and Practices
That Share Patients but Not Patient Information

ROUND ROCK, Texas--(Business Wire)--
Dell announced an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) solution for
hospital-affiliated physician practices to accelerate the sharing and meaningful
use of digital patient information among hospitals and physician practices.
Dell`s EMR solution is sponsored by hospitals for their affiliated physicians
and is designed to make it affordable and practical for many more physician
practices to transition from paper to electronic records. The EMR solution will
also connect the community of physicians and their sponsoring hospitals so that
they can harness the power of electronic patient information to improve and
coordinate care, help reduce costs and streamline administration across their
local healthcare system.

Less than 10 percent* of U.S. physicians - many of whom are affiliated with a
local hospital - have a fully-functional electronic records system that provides
real-time access to patient histories and streamlines practice management with
electronic patient registration, scheduling and billing. The potential of EMR to
reduce healthcare costs for consumers, employers and the government has made its
adoption a foundational plank in the federal government`s plan to reform
healthcare and stimulate the U.S. economy. Healthcare providers who adopt EMR
and achieve "meaningful use" by 2011 are eligible for bonus payments under the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Working together, Dell and sponsoring hospitals can now eliminate the
long-standing barriers to widespread EMR adoption by small and medium medical
practices: the cost and complexity of deploying the systems and incompatibility
with other provider systems.

The News:

* Dell`s Affiliated Physician EMR Solution is the most comprehensive solution of
its kind in the industry. It is designed for hospitals who want to sponsor EMR
for their affiliated physicians that is compatible with their own information
systems and for physicians looking for economies of scale and enterprise-quality
EMR support for their small practices. It will enable hospitals and practices
that share patients to share patient information electronically to coordinate
care and streamline administration.
* Dell has created a modular, enterprise-class EMR solution that sponsor
hospitals will configure to meet the specific needs of their affiliated
physician community. It includes application hosting and Health Information
Exchange management and revenue opportunities for sponsor hospitals and
everything necessary to promote the solution to hospitals.
* For physician practices, Dell`s solution provides a one-stop shop for EMR
technology and services, eliminating traditional barriers and simplifying the
deployment and management of EMR.

* It Can Reduce Upfront Expenses and Help to Maximize Cash Flow, with financing
that minimizes up-front and out-of-pocket expenses until ARRA reimbursement and
affordable monthly lease payments that maximize cash flow during reimbursement
periods.
* It Can Eliminate Complexity with a single solution that simplifies EMR
adoption and is tailored to the needs of each practice. The solution includes
hosted EMR and practice management software; office technology; and a complete
services portfolio, including practice and site assessments to determine
practice readiness and workflow requirements, solution installation, physician
and staff training and 24/7 software and hardware support via Dell`s ProSupport
EMR Helpdesk. The hospital or Dell`s EMR partner will host the EMR application
in a secure datacenter to simplify the technical configuration required at the
practice and ensure 24/7 enterprise-level support and information security.
* It Connects the Healthcare Community, via a secure Health Information Exchange
(HIE) hosted by the hospital or by a Dell partner so that affiliated physicians
and hospitals can exchange electronic patient information to coordinate care and
streamline administration. Information exchange is a requirement for American
Recovery and Reinvestment (ARRA) Funding.

* Hospitals like Tufts Medical Center and Memorial Hermann - early adopters of
the solution - also see the potential for higher practice retention in a
competitive market.
* Hospitals and Affiliated Physicians can learn more about Dell`s Affiliated
Physicians EMR solution at www.dell.com/EMRNow.

Quotes:

"Our healthcare community is committed to the goal of providing our patients the
right care, at the right time, at the right place. Transitioning to electronic
patient information and exchanging that information across our healthcare
community is the first, and has been the most challenging step in making our
vision a reality. We are now building a community of practices to coordinate and
deliver better care," said Bill Shickolovich, Chief Information Officer, Tufts
Medical Center.

"Memorial Hermann is consistently recognized among the `most wired` healthcare
systems in the U.S. We have seen the benefits of using electronic patient
information to operating efficiently and improving the quality of care within
our hospitals. Now it`s time to extend those benefits to our broader community
to provide end-to-end patient care," said David Bradshaw, Chief Information
Officer, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System.

"The U.S. healthcare system is suffering from a digital divide that we can no
longer afford: patient information that is locked away in paper records;
electronic medical records solutions that are beyond the reach of most physician
practices and hospitals and physicians who share patients, but not patient
information. With our hospital partners, we are knocking down EMR`s barriers to
accelerate its adoption and in doing so, we`ll create the communities of
practices and information-sharing infrastructure necessary to achieve reform
priorities today and personalized medicine in the future," said Dr. Jamie
Coffin, vice president, Dell Healthcare and Life Sciences.

"EMR has existed for nearly 20 years, but cost, complexity and other barriers
have kept it beyond the reach of physician practices and many hospitals-the
frontline of our healthcare system. The federal government has provided
financial incentives and now it`s time for the industry to address other
barriers. Dell has introduced one of the first, comprehensive solutions for
hospitals and their affiliated ambulatory providers," said Judy Hanover, IDC
Health Industry Insights Analyst.

About Dell:

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers the innovative
technology and services they trust and value. Dell serves those who serve with
next generation infrastructure for healthcare.

Note to Editors:

An EMR Panel Discussion and Q&A session featuring Healthcare leaders and Dell
executives is scheduled for 11 a.m., CDT via webcast

*"Electronic Health Records in Ambulatory Care-a National Survey of Physicians,"
New England Journal of Medicine, July 2008

Dell is a trademark of Dell Inc. Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the
marks and names of others.

Dell Inc., Round Rock
Cathie Hargett, 512-728-7347
Cathie_Hargett@dell.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009