KANSAS CITY, Mo., Oct. 5, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Despite advances in technology and medical record keeping, most patient records are missing an important piece of data. Currently, fetal monitoring waveform data gathered throughout a woman's pregnancy is either kept on paper or in a separate system outside of the electronic health record (EHR). Fetal waveforms capture important data such as irregular infant heartbeats and history of distress that can be used to help identify health problems, but that data is often not easily accessible for clinicians. To solve this problem, Cerner (Nasdaq:CERN) developed the Cerner FetaLink(TM) solution to integrate fetal and maternal monitoring waveform data in the EHRs of the mother and the child. The Cerner FetaLink solution recently received 510(k) pre-market clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is now available in the United States and all U.S. territories.

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"The Cerner FetaLink(TM) solution allows us to capture critical data about a woman's pregnancy within the electronic health record so clinicians can make informed decisions to protect the health of the baby and mother," said Joan Hicks, chief information officer at UAB Hospital, a testing partner for the Cerner FetaLink solution. "The ability for providers to view this critical data in real-time not only in the hospital, but also in a clinic or remotely from the physician's home, will help us provide better care to expectant mothers."

The Cerner FetaLink solution electronically documents and provides a graphical display of the relationship between fetal heart rates and contraction data in the EHR. It also stores and displays waveforms and annotations, which can be viewed in real-time by care providers in inpatient or outpatient settings. Clinicians can compare waveform data from different visits during a woman's pregnancy, or even waveform data from the same patient's previous pregnancies to determine whether current observations for a patient are within the normal range for their pregnancy.

"The data generated during a woman's pregnancy contains valuable information about the child and mother that can help clinicians provide better, safer care to their patients," said Trace Devanny, Cerner president. "By connecting fetal monitoring devices to the electronic health record, the Cerner FetaLink solution is helping to build a Single Source of Truth(TM) for patient medical data in the lifetime record."

The Cerner FetaLink solution, along with the Cerner PowerChart Maternity(TM) solution, helps populate lifetime EHRs for the mother and the baby, gathering data even before a baby is born.