BERLIN, April 9 /PRNewswire/ --

- The new unified intelligence system allowing enterprise health
providers to unlock the power of data from their existing IT systems is
launched in Germany at conhIT 2008.

At the conhIT 2008 healthcare IT trade show, Microsoft Corp today
announced the European availability of Microsoft Amalga, the new unified
intelligence system that allows hospital enterprises to unlock the power of
all their data sitting in isolated clinical, financial and administrative
solutions. Microsoft is also implementing a European Amalga early adopter
customer programme, in which it will work with health providers to implement
and deploy Amalga in various healthcare scenarios.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)

Amalga is part of the Microsoft Amalga Family of Health Enterprise
Systems, a portfolio of enterprise-class health solutions that provide rich
integration, giving clinicians and executives quick access to valuable,
up-to-the-minute information across their health enterprise, opening up new
opportunities to improve patient care, organisational quality and operational
efficiency. Amalga addresses the need for more effective use of all the
healthcare organisation's data.

"The amount of data in hospitals is increasing exponentially. One of
healthcare providers' biggest challenges is that care givers can't access
patient information when and where they need it," said Graham Harrop,
Microsoft Health Solutions Group, Director - Europe and Middle East. "Amalga
offers proven solutions that bring together information from across the
healthcare enterprise into one easily accessible view."

Amalga is in use at MedStar Health, a community-based network of eight
hospitals and other healthcare services in the Baltimore-Washington, DC, area
where it originated and has benefitted from 10 years of ongoing development.
Microsoft acquired the solution and development team in 2006 and has focused
on readying the product for commercial availability worldwide. As part of a
US early adopter programme, Amalga is in the hands of renowned US healthcare
institutions, including NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Johns Hopkins Health
System, Novant Health, H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, St
Joseph Health System and the Wisconsin Health Information Exchange.

Amalga addresses a common and critical challenge of healthcare providers
-- integrating vast amounts of clinical, administrative and financial
information that flow in and out of disparate information systems, and
tailoring that information for use by physicians, analysts, laboratory
technicians, nurses and administrators. Amalga takes advantage of health
enterprises' investments in existing health IT solutions and makes it
possible for the entire organisation to gain quick access to data and turn
that information into critical knowledge that facilitates better
decision-making and improved patient outcomes. The Unified Intelligence
System approach allows hospitals with strong departmental characteristics,
networks of clinics and connected hospitals a chance for differentiation.
Amalga expands Microsoft's business intelligence proposition, especially for
comprehensive clinical information and context, and facilitates process and
quality improvements.

The new Amalga system is built on widely used and supported Microsoft
products to deliver important benefits, including security features, high
availability, scalability and full audit capabilities. Amalga also offers
simplified deployment and improved supportability through streamlined
administration, configuration and self-provisioning tools for users.

The Amalga Family of Health Enterprise Systems includes the following:
    -- Microsoft Amalga. Amalga is part of a new software category called
       Unified Intelligence System that allows hospital enterprises to unlock
       the power of all their data sitting in isolated clinical, financial 
       and administrative systems. Without replacing current systems, it 
       offers an innovative way to capture, consolidate, store, access and 
       quickly present data in meaningful ways for use by clinicians and 
       executives of leading-edge institutions. Amalga is designed for 
       hospitals and health systems that have invested in a diverse set of IT 
       solutions.
    -- Microsoft Amalga Hospital Information System (HIS). Amalga HIS is a
       state-of-the-art, fully integrated hospital information system 
       designed for developing and emerging markets. Amalga HIS is built 
       around an electronic medical record with complete patient and bed 
       management, laboratory, pharmacy, radiology information system and 
       picture archiving and communication system (RIS/PACS), pathology, 
       financial accounting, materials management, and human resource 
       systems.
    -- Microsoft Amalga RIS/PACS. Amalga RIS/PACS is available as a
       stand-alone system in developing and emerging markets as well as an
       integrated component of Amalga HIS. The integrated architecture means
       that a radiologist can use a single application to manipulate and 
       study images and access the patient medical record. The workstation
       interface, which includes support for predefined templates, an
       intuitive report editor and voice recognition capabilities, is
       optimised for radiologist work flow.



More information on the Amalga family is available at
http://www.microsoft.com/amalga.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise
their full potential.

About Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)

Microsoft has operated in EMEA since 1982. In the region Microsoft
employs more than 16,000 people in over 64 subsidiaries, delivering products
and services in more than 139 countries and territories.

This material is for informational purposes only. Microsoft Corp
disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to use of the material
for other purposes. Microsoft Corp shall not, at any time, be liable for any
special, direct, indirect or consequential damages, whether in an action of
contract, negligence or other action arising out of or in connection with the
use or performance of the material. Nothing herein should be construed as
constituting any kind of warranty.

Web site: http://www.microsoft.com