OptiMed Technologies installs first Multi-Location, Off-Site cardiac Archive

at Providence Health System in Portland, Oregon

Installation Expands Industry's Second-Largest Installed Base

FAIRFIELD, NJ, March 28, 2000 -- OptiMed Technologies, Inc. announced today the successful installation of its first multi-location, off-site cardiac archive at Providence Health System in Portland, OR. The two hospitals, Providence Portland Medical Center and Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, are the first to receive OptiMed Technologies' OptiCor Distributed Image Archive, and are the first multi-hospital centers in the U.S. to share a common patient image library that is located remotely to both hospitals at the Providence Tigard IS Center. The current archive can store over 40,000 cardiac catheterization and echocardiography examinations and provides direct access to any exam in less than 30 seconds.

Providence Portland Medical Center and Providence St. Vincent Medical Center provide advanced and sophisticated treatments for cancer, cardiovascular disease, high-risk pregnancies and diabetes, as well as an innovative, aggressive approach to burn care, to residents of Portland and the surrounding area. The Providence Health System was recently ranked 17th in a listing of top 100 integrated healthcare networks in the nation by Modern Healthcare in its January 31, 2000 issue.

Providence Portland and Providence St. Vincent combine to perform over 4,800 cardiac catheterization procedures per year. They installed the OptiCor Image Management and Archival System to gain the benefits of filmless operation. The network permits doctors to access patients' angiograms from any review station within the hospital and eliminates costly film processing and handling. The OptiCor Distributed Image Archive gives each medical center automated access to several years of cardiac exams from any of their networked locations, further increasing their effectiveness and efficiency in caring for their patients.

"The installation of this system is another example of how the Providence Health System continues its innovation in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. The incorporation of the High-Capacity Distributed Image Archive capabilities demonstrates our commitment to our patients and should greatly enhance our ability to provide seamless diagnostic and therapeutic cardiovascular care", said Peter Block, MD, Associate Director of the Providence Heart Institute and Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.

Commenting on the success of the distributed archive, Ben Noy, President of OptiMed stated, "Providence was the ideal health system to use for the introduction of this new concept. Because of their reputation for excellence and their multi-site data access requirements, they needed a flexible and expandable cardiac archival solution. Future integration of other modalities will eventually lead to the creation of a complete patient record that can be instantaneously accessed anywhere inside the hospital, as well as anywhere outside the hospital using OptiMed's Web Server capability.Several years of patient data can be stored in a central jukebox library, which is shared by multiple hospitals or imaging facilities, and can be expanded virtually without limitation." Mr. Noy continued, "Although cath lab professionals will reap tremendous benefits through improved information access, the patient will be the ultimate beneficiary through expedient diagnosis and treatment".

OptiMed Technologies' OptiCor Image Management and Archival System is the leading independent cardiac imaging network system. The network connects to all major cardiac x-ray systems using the industry standard DICOM communications protocol, a direct digital interface or a high resolution analog interface. The system allows rapid access to several thousand patient cases stored on the OptiCor server and over 40,000 cases stored in the OptiCor Image Archive.

OptiMed Technologies Inc., founded in 1993, is a worldwide distributor of cardiac image management and archival systems for the cath lab. With the second-largest installed base in the industry, OptiMed has consistently been on the cutting edge of new technology and innovation as it applies to cardiac imaging. OptiMed's comprehensive product line also includes echocardiography image management, Internet image storage and retrieval and multiple archival media options. OptiMed is headquartered in Fairfield, NJ, with sales and service offices located strategically throughout the world.

Additional information about Oregon Providence Health System can be found at its web site at www.providence.org/oregon.