The development of a multi-million dollar partnership between UB and Dell Inc. was announced at its future headquarters in the Roosevelt Building at UB's Downtown Medical Campus on Thursday afternoon.
Michael Dell, president and chief executive officer of Dell Inc., came to Buffalo to announce the development of a project which aims to create a novel system of health information technology.
The UB/Dell Inc. partnership, which also marks the launch of UB's Institute of Healthcare Informatics, is dedicated to researching and developing an electronic record system to be implemented in hospitals to enhance the care and treatment of patients.
David Dunn, the vice president for health sciences and the president and CEO of UB Associates, oversaw the press conference.
"Medicine, for centuries, has been an art, not a science," Dunn said. "Science has been applied sporadically to clinical care and in the day and age of health information technology, we have the ability and the capacity to use huge amounts of information and data analysis to make healthcare better, to increase quality and to decrease cost."
The management of the project strives to create a system that can serve as a means of communication between patients, practitioners and researchers throughout Western New York.
With the new system, a physician will be able to access a patient's entire medical history throughout all hospitals in the system. Such technology will lead to better preventative care for patients and higher quality of treatment at a lower cost.
The software's graphics and language will be patient-friendly, allowing them to have greater control over their healthcare and to be able to play a more active role in deciding their treatments.
"The field of information technology has a huge impact on the efficiency and productivity of the economy," Dell said. "[Information technology] has changed how we work, how we play, how we share information, and how we educate."
According to Dell, now is an ideal time to implement this electronic records system due to the dropping prices of higher computational technologies.
With a team of 100,000 members, Dell hopes the success of the collaboration with UB will help to establish his company as a leader in the field of healthcare technology. The project will initially create 30 to 50 jobs, many of which will be held in the newly formed Institute for Healthcare Informatics.
With this collaboration, UB will establish itself as a pioneer in the field of bioinformatics, paving the way for other SUNY centers and medical institutions across the country.
Dr. Russell Bessette, associate vice president for health sciences and executive director of the Institute for Healthcare Informatics, believes that this project and partnership will be especially beneficial for UB students aspiring to enter the medical field.
"[This will create] training opportunities for entry-level job fields, [along with] a partnership with ECC, who already has a two-year program," Bessette said. "Students can then transfer to UB's four-year program and even study post-grad. This is another avenue to be explored."
Other participants in the program include CTG, a Buffalo-based technology company, and UB Associates, an organization that manages the 450 UB physicians of UBMD.
The UB and local community are anticipating an ensured benefit from the partnership with Dell Inc.
"I am honored to serve UB in this capacity and most of all to participate in a dynamic public/private partnership that will improve the public health," Bessette said. "Combining the strength, experience and investment of Dell with the research capacity of UB, Western New York stands to benefit in job creation and economic impact."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
