U.S. Transportation Command Saves Lives With Information Builders Business Intelligence Technology

Global Logistics System Orchestrates Critical Patient Movement Activities for U.S. Department of Defense


NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - April 15, 2009) - A critical function of the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is patient evacuation, a complex, logistical challenge where speed is essential. As an independent leader in business intelligence (BI) solutions, Information Builders is helping TRANSCOM devise optimal patient movement plans based on urgent medical needs, available facilities, in-transit visibility, and enterprise-wide cost and performance analytics. Thanks to the successful deployment of a pervasive operational BI system, the military's evacuation and care activities are more efficient, minimizing suffering and improving care. Authorized users can generate detailed reports to monitor the status of patients from the beginning of transport to the outcome of treatment, potentially saving the lives of thousands of soldiers.

"When soldiers are wounded in battle, the military needs to provide efficient medical transport in conjunction with real-time information and pinpoint accuracy," said Lieutenant Colonel Keith Lostroh, TRAC2ES functional program manager. "TRAC2ES helps us provide advanced care for our troops."

TRAC2ES, an acronym for the TRANSCOM Regulating and Command and Control (C2) Evacuation System, is a decision-support, reporting, and analysis tool that helps the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), coordinate patient movement on a global basis. Built on Information Builders' WebFOCUS BI platform, it supports patient movement from the battlefield to definitive care and, when necessary, to rehabilitative care in hospitals such as Walter Reed. The system also tracks and coordinates patient information throughout the U.S. military's worldwide network of healthcare facilities.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Lostroh, the operational decision-support system provides critical data that helps military personnel minimize the severity of injuries and improve treatment. "TRANSCOM's goal is to provide good medical care, not simply move people around," he said. "Our utmost concern is for patient safety, quality of care, and efficient use of resources. Business intelligence technology is helping us meet these objectives."

TRAC2ES supported the troops during operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom by providing 100 percent patient in-transit visibility for more than 73,000 patient movements. During these crucial operations it generated standards reports about the number of patients and movements, the number of missions, and the associated costs. From the clerk who arranges a patient's transfer to the doctors and nurses who determine his or her eligibility and fitness for movement to the supporting agency personnel who arrange the aircraft and determine when the flight will leave and where it is going, the BI system helps the military track a patient's welfare and whereabouts as each mission unfolds.

Today, approximately 2,500 users have access to the system, which provides three different domains to access personal, medical, and movement data. WebFOCUS enables data-level and role-based security to partition the data based on each user's needs and requirements. TRANSCOM used WebFOCUS Reporting Server, WebFOCUS User Administration Services, WebFOCUS Analytical Reporter, and WebFOCUS ReportCaster to create the BI environment.

TRAC2ES not only orchestrates patient movement operations, but also provides critical metrics related to patient safety. The pervasive BI technology is providing one unified system for the entire DoD, enabling complete in-transit visibility of patient movements and treatments.

"TRAC2ES has transformed the DoD's distribution network with an extensive information technology backbone," said Gerald Cohen, president and CEO of Information Builders. "TRANSCOM now has a patient movement system that helps to assure positive outcomes for sick and wounded soldiers anywhere in the world."

About USTRANSCOM

The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), working under the Department of Defense (DoD), is a joint command responsible for creating and implementing world-class global asset deployment and distribution solutions in support of the United States President, Secretary of Defense, and Combatant Commander-assigned missions. Around the globe, USTRANSCOM's superb force of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, DOD civilians, and commercial partners accomplishes a wide array of joint mobility missions. With its people, trucks, trains, aircraft, ships, information systems, and infrastructure, USTRANSCOM provides the U.S. with the most responsive strategic mobility capability the world has ever seen.

About Information Builders

Information Builders' award-winning combination of business intelligence and enterprise integration software has been providing innovative solutions to more than 12,000 customers for the past 30 years. WebFOCUS is the world's most widely utilized business intelligence platform. It provides the security, scalability and flexibility needed at every level of global extended enterprises. Its simplicity helps create executive, analytical, and operational applications that reach dozens to millions of users. Information Builders' iWay Software suite provides state of the art, multi-purpose, pre-built integration components that address all SOA, application, data and information management requirements. Its integration adapters have been adopted by the leading software platform providers. Together, these products give Information Builders' customers the ability to grow and innovate according to their needs.

Information Builders' customers include most of the Fortune 100 and U.S. federal government agencies. Headquartered in New York City with 90 offices worldwide, the company employs 1,450 people and has more than 350 business partners. More information is available at http://www.informationbuilders.com.

Contact Information: Press Contacts: Kathleen Moran Information Builders (917) 339-6313 Karyn Martin Emerge PR (617) 729-3173