APTIUM HEALTHCARE IT CONSULTINGYears before electronic medical record (EMR) was mandated and became a buzzword in healthcare, Aptium Oncology, an oncology consulting company based in Los Angeles, California, recognized the value of a single portal through which patient information could be recorded and shared. Working with the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Desert Regional Medical Center, an Aptium-affiliated facility, it launched a pilot EMR in 1998. Buoyed by its modest success with the pilot initiative, Aptium assembled a team of IT experts and clinicians from both organizations to configure a generic ambulatory EMR into a robust oncology EMR.To date, Aptium Healthcare IT Consulting has successfully customized and implemented packaged software, converting them to oncology optimized processes and applications at several ambulatory cancer centers across the country. The company continues to develop innovative IT solutions that map to the unique needs of cancer care, for the full suite of oncology programs. These include everything from fully functional CPOE and integrated Radiation Therapy 'views' to custom physician flowsheets to scheduling of drugs, assets and staff in busy infusion centers. Aptium also focuses on Siemens® products, specializing in patient accounting and collection challenges in the oncology ambulatory environment.