Tibotec Virco Virology BVBA acquires Ground Zero Software's LAB TRACKER HIV EMR system

Tibotec Virco Virology BVBA today announced the acquisition of LAB TRACKER(TM) HIV, a customized electronic medical record (EMR) system, from the company Ground Zero Software. LAB TRACKER(TM) HIV is a full-service, scalable software platform designed to meet the complex disease-management needs of health care providers who are treating people living with HIV/AIDS. It facilitates secure data integration and exchange among clinics, laboratories, radiologists, and pharmacies; automates certain U.S. government reporting; and serves as a powerful data-mining engine for clinical trials, outcomes research, and grants proposals.

"EMR systems streamline and organize the exchange of medical information, allowing physicians to focus more on patient care and less on paperwork," said Karam Mounzer, MD, Medical Director, Jonathan Lax Center/Philadelphia FIGHT, Philadelphia, PA. "A customized EMR is of paramount importance in HIV care, in which successful treatment decisions and practice management rely on clinical history tracking, comprehensive reporting, and data analysis. Such system can help clinicians make better use of a high volume of patient information from multiple sources."

LAB TRACKER(TM) HIV collects, manages and analyzes critical patient data from physicians, pharmacies, labs and clinics. The software has the ability to graph viral load and CD4 trends against antiretroviral therapy, integrate longitudinal resistance profiles, and quickly collect and submit information for U.S. government reporting, such as that required by the Ryan White CARE Act. The software can be installed on existing PCs, networks, or laptops running on the Windows® operating system, and is compatible with previously installed applications.

Virco, a pioneer in HIV drug resistance testing since the mid-1990s, has a deep heritage in applying advanced technologies to combating HIV and other infectious diseases. The acquisition of LAB TRACKER(TM) HIV, which was designed using insights from health care professionals steeped in HIV care, is a natural extension of this commitment, and is aligned with the company's virco®TYPE HIV-1 antiviral resistance product. Virco has global rights to LAB TRACKER(TM) HIV, and Virco Lab, Inc., the U.S. operating division of Virco, is responsible for the sales, marketing and customer support of LAB TRACKER(TM) HIV in the U.S.

"The acquisition of LAB TRACKER(TM) HIV is a major step forward in expanding our company's health information technology offering, and a logical move following our long-standing credentials in HIV bioinformatics and drug resistance interpretation including our lead product, virco®TYPE HIV-1," said Werner Verbiest, General Manager Worldwide, Virco. "We will continue to explore new technology opportunities that are consistent with our commitment to enhancing the care of people living with HIV and other infectious diseases by optimizing clinical decision-making."

Virco will continue to provide full support to the existing LAB TRACKER(TM) HIV customer base. The company will seek Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) accreditation to satisfy "meaningful-use" criteria under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).