Merge Healthcare Building Market Acceptance of Newest “Cloud” Image Management Solutions

Virtual Delivery Method Wins New Customer, Bringing Considerable Efficiency and Cost-Savings to RIS/PACS Deployment

MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Merge Healthcare (NASDAQ: MRGE), a leading health IT solutions provider, today announced the availability of its RIS, PACS and Disaster Recovery solutions that leverage a cloud computing platform to manage a breadth of healthcare information. This scalable software as a service (SaaS) by Merge enables digital imaging enterprises to deploy a HIPAA-compliant medical imaging solution without the cost or complexity of managing multiple layers of hardware or software. The cloud-hosted solutions also enable rapid implementation of a RIS (radiology information system) or PACS (picture archiving communications system); allowing practices a faster return on investment and minimal disruption to workflow.

“We were impressed with Merge Healthcare’s commitment and ability to implement a front-to-backend solution so quickly,” says Matt Purser, President of Prestige Imaging, LLC of Dallas, Texas, who recently purchased the hosted Fusion RIS/PACS MX™ solution. “The flexibility and depth of Fusion RIS/PACS, supported by such a robust hosting environment, was exactly what we needed to be more responsive to our patients and partners.” He continues, “The Merge solution has allowed Prestige to differentiate itself as a leading diagnostic imaging provider throughout Texas. We are already experiencing positive results.”

A pay-per-study model provides affordable access to the newest releases of Merge’s prominent digital imaging software solutions, including the recently released no-client FusionWeb Clinician Access Portal™ and Fusion RIS 4.0™ with Fusion Billing™. Hosted on a secure, off-site private server, these robust platforms store digital images (including prior studies) and associated patient information in a fully managed server environment, and are accessible at any time from any hosted network computer.

“Cloud computing provides our customers with another flexible option to manage their data and information, one which minimizes deployment cost and time,” said Nancy Koenig, President of Merge Fusion. “For healthcare organizations whose study volumes cannot justify the costs associated with an on-site installation of a full-scale PACS or RIS/PACS system, or for those looking for a convenient way to upgrade their legacy PACS system, this virtual approach delivers immediate workflow-efficiency improvements.”

Merge Healthcare develops software solutions that automate healthcare data and diagnostic workflow to create a more comprehensive electronic record of the patient experience. Merge products, ranging from standards-based development toolkits to fully integrated clinical applications, have been used by healthcare providers worldwide for over 20 years. Additional information can be found at www.merge.com.

The matters discussed in this news release may include forward-looking statements, which could involve a number of risks and uncertainties. When used in this press release, the words “will”, “believes”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “expects” and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Except as expressly required by the federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update such factors or to publicly announce the results of any of the forward-looking statements.