Sydney, July 28, 2008 (ABN Newswire) - iSOFT (LON:IOT) a subsidiary of IBA Health Group Limited (ASX:IBA)(PINK:IBATF) today announced agreements valued at over A$3.5 million with three district health boards (DHBs) in New Zealand for iSOFT patient management and clinical systems. The agreements range from three to five years.

Waikato District Health Board has signed a three-year extension to its existing contract for iSOFT's i.Patient Manager (i.PM) and HealthViews clinical workstation, following agreement for the delivery of further functionality and enhancements.

Lakes and Tairawhiti DHBs have both agreed new five-year deals for i.PM with an option to extend up to four years.

i.PM was installed at the 800-bed Waikato hospital and seven district hospitals in April 2007. A long-standing customer, Waikato DHB uses a range of iSOFT applications for administration, laboratory, pharmacy and radiology. Since its introduction, the HealthViews clinical solution has helped improve the quality and timeliness of diagnostics, treatment and management decisions, and reduce clinical risk. Waikato District Health Board and iSOFT will collaborate to develop the new functionality to improve the speed and quality of deliverables. Waikato DHB resources will be involved in the analysis, design, test and deployment phases of the development process.

The contracts with Tairawhiti and Lakes DHBs follow a joint review of current systems with iSOFT and a jointly developed strategy for modern patient management systems to match those at Waikato and other DHBs. This collaborative approach between the DHB's creates a platform for accelerating innovation, particularly when it comes to information sharing with primary care providers. The commitment to long-term contracts has enabled iSOFT to offer significant cost savings. Waikato's i.PM configuration is the foundation for the new installations, which is also saving time and money.

Tairawhiti and Lakes are existing customers for a range of iSOFT applications including HealthViews. Lakes DHB has been at the forefront of the development of the HealthViews clinical application and its deployment to patient focused care settings.

Gary Cohen, Executive Chairman and CEO, said: "The solid relationship with Waikato, Lakes and Tairawhiti, gives all parties the certainty and confidence to agree long-term commitments and us the ability to offer favourable commercial terms. Our New Zealand customers are benefiting from the greater economies of scale we now have in terms of the commitment to the New Zealand healthcare market."