McKesson Specialty, a division of McKesson Corp., launched OncoIMS, a web-based inventory management solution designed to help oncology practices manage medication inventory levels; maximize practice profitability and efficiencies; and streamline manual inventory processes. Gabrail Cancer Center in Canton, Ohio, and Matthews Hematology Oncology in Matthews, N.C., are two of the pilot practices implementing the solution, followed by a general release in June. Because it is web based, information is accessible anytime, anywhere; software updates are automatic; and practice data is protected with the highest level of security. “OncoIMS seamlessly interfaces with our practice management and EMR software so patient information does not have to be entered manually. It automatically captures all CPT and J codes necessary for billing and calculates how much drug needs to be pulled in order to obtain the required dose, leaving no room for error,” says Shelly Rentsch, Practice Administrator at Gabrail Cancer Center.

WorldCare Clinical, an imaging CRO, announced a partnership with the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) to augment its medical image analysis and interpretation capabilities.  UCMC will provide radiology diagnostic services in support of global pharmaceutical and medical device clinical trials managed by WCC. UCMC will bring specialized image reading services to WCC’s clinical trial capabilities for sponsors. “The University of Chicago Medical Center is a nationally recognized teaching and research hospital with a history of being at the forefront of radiological study,” said Stephen Pomeranz, WorldCare Clinical’s chairman and chief medical officer. “Its highly trained sub-specialty radiologists will be a tremendous asset to our already seasoned team.”

MEDITECH, a vendor of health care information systems, plans to acquire its long-time partner PtCT, a provider of home care, hospice, tele-health, private duty, and benchmarking software. PtCT will become an independent subsidiary of MEDITECH whose vice chairman, Lawrence Polimeno, will assume the added role of president and CEO of PtCT. "This acquisition is about providing PtCT with short-term and long-term resources to continue to develop and deliver leading-edge software," said Mark Braunstein, PtCT's co-founder, who will remain with the company. Both firms are privately-held, and specific terms of the acquisition were not released.

LSU Healthcare Network (LHN) is launching iHealth, the online physician-patient communication service that includes a transportable and secure online personal health record for all area residents.  iHealth, the first of its kind service launched in the New Orleans area, will directly engage patients with online access to their LHN physician's office and a secure, online health record that empowers patients and protects them in emergencies. "In light of the tragic events of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we are committed to offering this important new service to our community," stated Frank Opelka, CEO. "We keep electronic records for other areas of importance in our lives, such as finance and home affairs. A secure online personal health record, that is accessible anytime, anywhere, is critical to saving lives in an emergency. We hope other employers in the New Orleans area will join us in supporting online physician-patient communication and transportable personal health record services for their employees." 

GenoLogics, a developer of lab and data management software solutions for life sciences research, announced that Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Hershey Medical Center have selected Geneus and Proteus to manage their research informatics needs across multiple labs and science domains. Both solutions will be installed in multiple core labs within the college and the medical center. Penn State Hershey Medical Center will use Geneus and Proteus to manage sample data and workflows in a number of core labs including: functional genomics, molecular genetics, macromolecular, proteomics/mass spectrometry, cell science/flow cytometry, transgenic, microscopy imaging, MRI/NMR, and viral vector cores.