Media Advisory - February 7, 2008

HAMILTON -- Mohawk College today received a $1 million donation from a global business and information technology services provider in support of a new applied innovation project in electronic health records.

Satyam Computer Services Ltd. Is donating more than $1 million in cash and in-kind services to establish the SATYAM Interoperable Electronic Health Records (iEHR) Centre at the College's Fennell Campus. A team of Mohawk Engineering Technology faculty and students is working with Satyam programmers in India to build the first working prototype of Canada's national blueprint for electronic health records (EHRs).

The blueprint was developed by Canada Health Infoway, a federally-funded, independent, not-for-profit organization whose members are Canada's 14 federal, provincial and territorial Deputy Ministers of Health. Canada Health Infoway is Canada's catalyst for collaborative change to accelerate the use of electronic health information systems and EHRs across the country.

"Mohawk College is proud to be working collaboratively with an industry leader such as Satyam Computer Services to build the first working prototype of Canada's national blueprint for electronic health records," said President MaryLynn West-Moynes. "Mohawk's private and public sector partnerships underscore the power of applied innovation in developing meaningful, long-term solutions for Canada's healthcare system."

"Widespread use and adherence to standards help streamline operations in any industry and it is especially relevant in healthcare, where people's lives are at stake," said Ram Mynampati, Member of the Board and President, Commercial and Healthcare Business, Satyam. "At Satyam, we are pleased to contribute to these efforts to integrate various islands of information and to help expedite care for patients throughout Canada."

An electronic health record (EHR) is a secure and private lifetime record of an individual's health and care history, available electronically to authorized health care providers. With access to complete records, doctors and clinicians will have far better information for decision-making. This is especially critical when it comes to prescriptions and treatments that are being provided by multiple doctors or specialists, or when a patient is in an emergency situation. There are approximately 2,000 health care transactions every minute in Canada, with every transaction requiring documentation and an exchange of information among health care providers.