Heron Implementing COMPASS at Riverside

April 15, 2007, Markham, Ontario, Canada. Heron Technology Corp. announces that it has received a contract from the Riverside Health Care Facilities Inc., Fort Frances, Ontario, to implement COMPASS, Heron's new multi-lingual, Patient Administration System, capable of operating over the Internet. RHCFI has sites in three Ontario cities, namely Fort Frances, Rainy River, and Emo.

An essential component of the Heron COMPASS implementation at RHCFI is the inclusion of Ontario's new Wait Time Information Strategy (WTIS), and the Enterprise Master Patient Index (EMPI). The WTIS is designed to reduce wait times by improving access to healthcare services in five areas: 1) cancer surgery; 2) selected cardiac procedures; 3) cataract surgery; 4) hip and knee total joint replacements; and 5) MRI and CT scans.

The communication of data from RHCFI to the Ontario Ministry of Health, from COMPASS, through the FITS middleware product, is via the OMOH standard HL7 (Health Level 7) version 2.4 protocol. COMPASS supports the HL7 version 2.1 and 2.4 protocols.

COMPASS can run on the license-free Linux operating system. RHCFI uses the Linux O/S in support of the Heron PAS. Heron has previously provided its similar PAS system to Jamaica's 11 largest public hospitals plus 2 public clinics. The Heron PAS is also operational in Montserrat and Dominica. These countries, being developing countries, benefit from using the license-free Linux operating system.