First Consulting Group (FCG) Executes FirstGateways LOI with the Long Beach Network for Health

First Consulting Group (FCG), (NASDAQ:FCGI), announced today ithas signed a Letter of Intent with the Long Beach Network for Health(LBNH) to deploy FCG's proven FirstGateways(TM) platform as thefoundation for building a broad community Health Information Exchangein the Southern California market.

Phase 1 of the project is expected to provide the foundation forbuilding electronic health records among providers and patients amongseveral hospitals and physician groups in the market. Incrementalphases are likely to involve additional LBNH stakeholders and theagreement may eventually expand to include non-LBNH organizations inCalifornia.

"Long Beach Network for Health is very pleased to announce thispartnership with First Consulting Group," said Laura Landry,technology coordinator for the Long Beach Department of Health & HumanServices. "The selection of First Gateways gives us a flexible,standards-driven platform that will accomplish quality improvement andpublic health goals in the Long Beach community. The goal here is toenable healthcare providers and patients to make informed decisionsabout appropriate medical care while enhancing public healthsurveillance and chronic disease management. The patient tracking andidentification component alone will position LBNH to serve thecommunity in the event of a major disaster."

LBNH is a public/private partnership of healthcare providers andstakeholders serving the City of Long Beach and surrounding areas, andis managed by Public Health Foundation Enterprises (PHFE). Itrepresents fifteen organizations including hospitals, medical groups,IPAs, the City and County health departments, pharmacy, health plansand patient advocates. The organization spent several monthsconducting strategic planning and identifying priorities for dataexchange before selecting the FirstGateways platform. The LBNHinitiative is being watched closely in California and, based on thesuccess of its efforts, may well be used as the model for futurehealth information exchange efforts in California.

"We are delighted to begin working with LBNH on its communityhealth information exchanges needs since it is really leading thecharge in California," said Joe Casper, senior vice president ofSoftware Products and FirstGateways product manager. "LBNH's selectionof FirstGateways follows closely our announcement on signing a letterof intent to build out the Health Information Xchange New York (HIXNY)regional care network in the Albany market, and demonstrates thestrength and viability of the FirstGateways platform in developingcommunity interoperability and health information exchange solutions."

As announced earlier this year, FCG is working with NorthropGrumman Corporation in one of four consortia chosen by the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services to develop a prototype for anationwide health information network (NHIN) architecture. Theseconsortia are expected to set the standard for health care informationexchange in the United States and FCG is providing the FirstGatewaysclinical system along with its experience in Regional HealthInformation Organization (RHIO) development to the consortia.

About FirstGateways(TM)

The FirstGateways clinical information system is built upon apowerful and flexible enterprise architecture to support initiativesthat improve patient care and enable health caregivers to make betterdecisions by providing them with web-enabled, real-time access topatient data. The product is currently being deployed to serve a widevariety of enterprise, community, and regional data sharing andintegration initiatives.

FirstGateways offers a robust data integration engine withsophisticated security and privacy functionality that enables thecollection, aggregation, distribution and analysis of patient data -collected from various source systems - and displayed via aconsolidated portal view. FirstGateways serves as the foundation forimmediate and strategic information needs. The result is a VirtualElectronic Medical Record that integrates patient-specific data fromacross a healthcare provider's inpatient and outpatient environment.

About FCG

First Consulting Group (FCG) is a leading provider of outsourcing,consulting, systems implementation and integration for healthcare,pharmaceutical, and other life sciences organizations throughout NorthAmerica, Europe and Asia. Through combinations of onsite, off-site andoffshore resources, FCG provides low cost, high quality services toimprove its clients' performance. The firm's consulting andintegration services increase clients' operations effectiveness withinformation technology, resulting in reduced costs, improved customerservice, enhanced quality of patient care, and more rapid introductionof new pharmaceutical compounds. For more information about FCG, visitwww.fcg.com or call 800-345-0957.

About Long Beach Network for Health

Long Beach Network for Health (LBNH) is a public-privatecollaboration of physicians, hospitals, other healthcareorganizations, and consumers committed to promoting thehighest-quality healthcare for the Long Beach community by enabling asecure, consumer-centric, and information-rich healthcare deliverysystem. LBNH is a program of Public Health Foundation Enterprises(PHFE) which serves as its fiscal sponsor. The LBNH goals are tocreate efficiency in the delivery of healthcare, improve physicianaccess to sophisticated health information, and enhance diseasemanagement in and around Long Beach. For more information about LBNH,visit www.lbnh.net.