iSOFT sees huge potential for the application among users facing a burgeoning demand for statutory and trust-wide reporting and analysis of clinical, business and financial performance data in ever greater detail.

With Rapid Analytics, data is extracted regularly and reports run off-line, avoiding the need to interrogate the "live" system and potentially slow the system and the processing of laboratory tests. Employing OLAP Cubes for ad-hoc enquiries, users can find trends and conduct historical comparisons in seconds. They can also drill-down through the data for detailed analyses and information. Its ease-of-use provides the opportunity for managers and other non-specialists to examine laboratory services, in many cases, for the first time.

George Philp, iSOFT's pathology products manager, said: "Traditionally, managers and pathologists have avoided running reports because of the potential delays and the risks of slowing the laboratory system. Rapid Analytics provides flexible, ad-hoc reporting capabilities and the speed with which results are obtained will encourage staff to analyse services from a clinical and management perspective."

"Reports are available is seconds not hours, without slowing the live system," said Tony Capozzi, Business Solutions Group head at FMI. "With a familiar and intuitive interface, the application is easy-to-use, giving managers and other non-pathology specialists the opportunity to examine, for example, costing and performance management data, with no need for extensive training in reporting and analysis. Rapid Analytics also works with both Cognos and Business Objects reporting solutions," he said.

"Personalised dashboards can be created, to tailor the application to specific job functions so that users can see at a glance their specific key performance indicators. It becomes a natural portal for accessing information and users can drill-down for more detail, quickly and easily produce the reports they need and share information across the organisation," Capozzi added.

iSOFT has worked with FMI since 2002. As iSOFT's business intelligence partner, FMI provides Cognos and Business Objects reporting tools for its i.Series range of healthcare applications.

iSOFT has 150 customers in the UK for laboratory information systems, giving it a 65% share of the UK market.

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About iSOFT
iSOFT is one of the world's leading suppliers of advanced software applications for the healthcare sector. With its next-generation product - LORENZO - iSOFT is at the forefront of the technology revolution taking place in healthcare. The company has extensive international experience and reach, with a strong presence in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Its products are used by more than 8,000 organisations in 27 countries for managing patient information and driving improvements in healthcare services. iSOFT focuses on developing innovative application solutions and has over 1,300 technology specialists engaged in software design, development and solution delivery. Further information: http://www.isoftplc.com.