Microsoft touts St. Joseph Health System's installation of Azyxxi, its health care data management platform, as the largest to date.

St. Joseph Health System, a network of hospitals in the Southwest with nearly 20,000 employees, is moving over to Microsoft's Azyxxi unified health enterprise platform.

The initial installation is the largest for the Azyxxi platform to date and will take place starting in early 2008 throughout St. Joseph's hospitals in Texas, New Mexico and California, Microsoft said.

Azyxxi is a data management platform that aggregates administrative, financial, clinical and patient data from disparate information silos and makes it available to hospital staff and caregivers through desktop and notebook PCs, tablets, and mobile devices, Microsoft said.

The platform is also equipped with decision support tools to help caregivers determine the best treatment options, the company said.

Click here to read more about Microsoft's health care information platform.

Allowing instant access to all critical patient data can speed treatment, improve efficiency and improve the quality of patient care, according to Microsoft and St. Joseph Health System, since caregivers spend less time tracking down information and more time with patients.

"With Azyxxi, all our physicians—those in the hospitals, community-based and in group practices—will have virtually instant access to a patient's health information, thereby increasing connectivity between providers and improving care for patients," Dr. Clyde Wesp, chief medical information officer for St. Joseph Health System, said in a statement.

The initial rollout will include installations in 14 acute care hospitals, three home health agencies and multiple physician groups throughout St. Joseph's three regions in California, Texas and New Mexico. A full rollout throughout the entire hospital network will be completed by the end of 2009, Microsoft said.

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