Partnership gives North American boost to Orion

By ADAM GIFFORD

Auckland-based healthcare software developer Orion Systems expects a boost in North American sales from a new partnership with database giant Oracle.

The two companies are teaming up to sell Orion's Concerto medical applications portal software with Oracle's new Health Transaction Base data repository.

Chief operating officer Mark Capill said the partnership arose from Orion's participation in the Central Station consortium, which has just won a $12 million deal to install an electronic health records system for the Capital Health region, which includes nine hospitals around Edmonton, Canada.

Other consortium members include Oracle, Quovadx, which will supply an electronic master patient index, hardware supplier HP and systems integrator Sierra Systems.

Orion is likely to make about $2 million from the project, but the Oracle connection could be worth much more.

"With Oracle HTB, they are not talking about a raw database but a product which is specifically designed to meet the needs of a global health market," Capill said.

"We have a symbiotic relationship with Oracle. They have the back end data repository, we provide technology for clinicians to see that data. That is a different relationship to the one we have with Microsoft and other vendors, where they provide tools which we configure."

Capill said Oracle was part of several consortiums bidding for the Edmonton project, but Orion was only in the one led by Sierra Systems.

Work on the system will start next month, and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

John Wookey, Oracle senior vice-president for application development, said Oracle's Healthcare Transaction Base allowed organisations to integrate disparate systems to provide a repository for patient information and clinical services.

Orion Health