PRESS RELEASE

Modus Operandi Completes Phase I Research Contract Investigating Automated Patient Assessment in a Critical Care Environment  

MELBOURNE, Florida, August 15, 2002 - Modus Operandi, Inc., announced today that it has completed a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The project, entitled "Nightingale: An Automated Patient Assessment Support System," focuses on improving the quality of care in a critical care environment.

Nightingale applies a unique and innovative data fusion display technology to provide the physician with a compact, intuitively organized, and information-rich view of patient information. The physician can see at a glance virtually every piece of information required to assess the patient's status and to make decisions regarding treatment. Less time is spent searching for data and more time acting upon information. The Nightingale system builds on a patented approach developed by cardiologist Dr. Michael F. Lesser, and piloted in an intensive care environment at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Florida.

The data fusion display is specifically designed for critical care, including such diverse information as lab work, cultures, patient devices, and imaging studies. All of the information is presented in a concise and consistent symbolic representation on top of a human body metaphor, making it natural to learn and easy to remember.

According to Principal Investigator Karen Dyson, "The benefits of Nightingale in the critical care environment are achieved by significantly reducing the time required to assess the patient's status. Given the ever-increasing demands placed on health care providers, a product such as this one that can enhance productivity without sacrificing accuracy is economically justifiable. Time not wasted searching for information can be put to better use, ultimately resulting in higher quality of care for the patient."

According to Dr. Eduardo Ortiz, Senior Service Fellow at AHRQ, "The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality supports research in the use of information technology to reduce medical errors, improve patient safety, and improve the overall quality of health care. Modus Operandi's Nightingale system, which has been funded through the Agency's SBIR program, is an innovative technology that is currently being evaluated for its potential to improve patient safety in intensive care units."

In the course of the Phase I contract, Modus Operandi developed an interactive prototype software application to demonstrate the data fusion display in action. Various strategies for generating a commercial product were evaluated, and an initial approach was selected, culminating in the definition of high-level system requirements and a proposed software architecture. The company is currently seeking provider-organizations with interest in pilot application of the completed Nightingale system, and is also seeking information system solution providers that could deliver additional value to their healthcare customers by incorporating Nightingale as part of their existing product offerings. Interested parties are invited to contact the company.

About Modus Operandi

Modus Operandi provides products and services for enterprise information integration and process improvement. The company’s solutions address both the processes and the key enabling technologies necessary to link people, processes, and systems for critical information sharing. Modus Operandi is an IBM Certified for e-business Business Partner and was named 2001 Solution Partner of the Year by Borland Software Corporation.

Additional information on Modus Operandi solutions is available from Modus Operandi, Inc., 122 Fourth Avenue, Indialantic, FL 32903. Phone: (321) 984-3370. Fax: (321) 728-3957. E-mail: inquiries@modusoperandi.com. Website: http://www.modusoperandi.com. The company maintains offices in Ft. Monmouth , NJ ; Tampa and Melbourne , Florida.