A Medical Device Daily

Education Management Solutions (EMS; Malvern, Pennsylvania), which focuses on comprehensive clinical skills training and performance assessment software applications, and SimMedical, wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC; Pittsburgh), which focuses on the creation and management of integrated healthcare simulation training programs, have entered into a joint marketing agreement.

The goal of the partnership is to help healthcare providers improve clinical performance and reduce medical errors.

The pact will combine EMS' expertise in skills training and performance evaluation software and audio-video design with SimMedical's simulation solutions, the company said.

"Our extensive experience in simulation center design and operational excellence paired with EMS' capabilities will meet the increasing needs for comprehensive training and assessment in healthcare education," said Paul Phrampus, M.D., director of WISER and chief medical officer of SimMedical.

In other agreements news:

• Nextrials (San Ramon, California), a developer of clinical research software, has unveiled what it called the pharma and biotech industry's first comprehensive, standards-based electronic data interface for clinical trial patient recruitment and randomization.

In partnership with Raining Data (Irvine, California), Nextrials developed the PRT module for its e-clinical trial management and electronic data capture platform, Prism, designed to enable sponsors to tap disparate sources such as a hospital's electronic health records (EHR) or patient records in other clinical trials to match subjects to study protocol criteria.

With Prism's integration with Raining Data's TigerLogic Clinical Trials Data Services (CTDS), the PRT module eliminates cost and inefficiencies associated with patient enrollment at study initiation, the company said.

• MDwerks (Deerfield Beach, Florida), a provider of automated electronic insurance claims management solutions and advance funding of medical claims, as submitted, through a revolving line of credit, reported a cross marketing agreement with Leum Software Solutions (Genoa, Wisconsin).

In the nonexclusive agreement, MDwerks and Leum will market and sell their respective products and services to each others' clients.

MDwerks is a provider of web-based, electronic claims management and funding solutions for healthcare professionals. Leum is an independent software vendor with an emphasis on specialized database applications for niche markets, like Podiatrists through its PodMed Practice Management and Electronic Medical Records Solutions.