DST Technologies to Launch AWD Healthcare Process Management-TM- Platf

DST Technologies to Launch AWD Healthcare Process Management-TM- Platform at HIMSS Conference in Dallas

    Business Editors/High-Tech Editors
    HIMSS 2005 Annual Conference
    Booth #6667

    KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 2005--

New DST BPM Platform Helps Healthcare Providers Automate Critical Areas of Operations in Order to Improve the Quality of Patient Care and Reduce Costs
    DST Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of DST Systems, Inc. (NYSE:DST) today unveiled its new AWD Healthcare Process Management(TM) platform at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's (HIMSS) Annual Conference in Dallas. AWD Healthcare Process Management is an enterprise business process management (BPM) platform that helps healthcare providers improve patient care and reduce costs by combining the proven power of imaging, workflow, and customer service solutions with next-generation application integration tools, robust process analysis, and an intelligent rules engine.
    At the HIMSS conference, DST executives will demonstrate how the AWD Healthcare Process Management suite of BPM healthcare templates helps providers improve critical areas of their operations, including Revenue Cycle, Supply Chain, Credentialing, HR and Payroll, Legal, and Quality Assurance and Compliance.
    "We understand that healthcare providers are under tremendous pressure to increase their efficiency and quality of service, while addressing increased regulations and combating the rising cost of operations," said Tracy Shelby, systems officer, DST Technologies. "Using proven, best practices templates associated with business process management, we have developed AWD Healthcare Process Management to automate critical business functions such as registration and medical records processing. Plus, as an added benefit, AWD provides interoperability with existing legacy systems, allowing organizations to extend the capital investment inherent in such solutions."
    Sisters of Mercy Health System/St. John's Mercy Health Care, based in St. Louis, Missouri, is an example of the platform's use and benefits. The large healthcare provider was DST's development site for the initial release of the AWD Healthcare Process Management platform being unveiled at the conference. The solution helped St. John's Mercy to improve its revenue cycle performance. In a short time, St. John's Mercy reduced its medical records backlog by 36 percent and sped processing of outpatient coding from three to five days, on average, to 24 hours. According to St. John's Mercy, after applying DST-driven BPM techniques to its revenue cycle, it saved more than $1 million and improved cash receivables by nearly $4 million.
    AWD Healthcare Process Management enables innovative healthcare organizations to:

--	Manage regulatory compliance through standard business processes
--	Leverage legacy systems by extending existing functionality and streamlining workflow
--	React to changes in work volumes or other market issues, thereby providing added business agility
--	Focus human talent on complex tasks and exception handling via process automation versus transaction processing
--	Analyze the process and identify weaknesses providing a basis for continuous process improvement
--	Simulate both centralized and de-centralized tasks to determine the overall impact to the organization
--	Customize executive dashboards to monitor and manage daily departmental business and provide key performance indicators

    DST executives will be available in booth #6667 throughout the HIMSS Conference to discuss the new AWD Healthcare Process Management solution. They will also be available after the show to discuss how the solution's proven technical architecture and healthcare process-specific templates offer short-term payback scenarios for healthcare providers of all sizes.

    About DST Systems, Inc.

    DST Systems, Inc. provides sophisticated information processing and computer software services and products that help clients improve productivity, increase efficiencies, and provide higher levels of customer service. DST Systems is organized domestically and internationally into three operating segments: Financial Services, Customer Management, and Output Solutions. DST Systems operates one of the most advanced data centers in the world, which provides information-processing services to support the products within each operating segment. These products are further enhanced through the integration of DST Systems' advanced technology and e-commerce solutions. For more information on DST Systems, Inc, visit www.dstsystems.com.

    About DST Technologies, Inc.

    DST Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of DST Systems, Inc, is a leading pure-play provider of business process management (BPM) solutions which help organizations optimize and execute their business processes. Leveraging its expertise and proven tools, DST automates the necessary business rules and workflow steps to improve overall business and operational efficiencies. DST Technologies is a provider of sophisticated information technology solutions that help clients improve productivity, increase efficiency and deliver higher levels of customer service. Backed by the resources of its corporate parent, DST provides BPM solutions to a variety of vertical markets, including financial services and healthcare. The company is unique among pure-play BPM providers with its significant domain expertise in healthcare. For more information about AWD, visit www.dstawd.com.

    (C) Copyright DST Technologies, Inc 2005 All rights reserved.

--30--KL/ny*

CONTACT: DST Technologies, Inc. Jill Metzler, 816-843-9087 jdmetzler@dstsystems.com or Springboard Public Relations Len Abbazia, 732-863-1900 x. 101 Len.Abbazia@SpringboardPR.com

KEYWORD: MISSOURI TEXAS TRACK INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE MEDICAL SOFTWARE TRADESHOW SOURCE: DST Technologies, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005