Equifax And Tempus Sign Agreement For Information Delivery

ATLANTA and JACKSONVILLE, May 4, 1998 -- Tempus Software, Inc. and Equifax have agreed that Equifax Healthcare Solutions will deliver patient identification verification and financial information services through Tempus' Encompass(tm) patient scheduling software. For the first time, hospitals will automatically confirm patient ID and access financial information services during initial scheduling.

Equifax has been serving the healthcare industry with information and collections services for 25 years. The Tempus Software partnership is the latest advancement in providing information services at the point of scheduling.

Using automatic trigger technology, Tempus' Encompass will launch an inquiry to Equifax's database when a patient or doctor's office calls to schedule a hospital appointment. Equifax will return key identifying information and action messages to enable users to confirm patient information and assist patients who may need financial assistance.

Patient identification information that is not verified can result in difficulty collecting payment for services after discharge. In a recent Equifax study of one typical hospital's records of patients with outstanding past-due balances, analysis revealed that 66% of the patient records had variances in name, address or Social Security Number. These records, consisting of three weeks of admissions, represented more than $2 million in outstanding receivables. About one-sixth of these records also received a warning from the Equifax system for reasons such as "SSN issued to person reported deceased" and "Address is a mail receiving service."

"Equifax's patient ID data and financial analysis generate savings throughout the healthcare accounts receivable process," said Margy Jones, senior vice president and general manager, Equifax Healthcare Solutions. "Getting accurate ID and financial data up front streamlines registration, assists in establishing payment plans, prioritizes collection cases and even reduces returned mail."

Jones continued, "This strategy is certainly not designed to deny or delay hospital services. The process complies fully with the provisions of COBRA and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and is a means to facilitate admission and to make pre-arrangements for meeting subsequent financial obligations for the self-pay portion of the account."

David Hayes, president and CEO of Tempus Software, said, "Our partnership with Equifax means hospitals will save money by instantly confirming patient information and channeling patients into the right billing stream at the earliest possible point in the healthcare process. By launching on-line inquiries to Equifax automatically, scheduling continues to be fast and easy for patients, while reducing healthcare costs behind the scenes."

In addition to providing Equifax's flexible decisioning platform to meet patient account financial analysis needs, Tempus' other healthcare access management modules include automated patient reminder technology and on-line insurance eligibility verification.

Equifax's worldwide knowledge-based information, transaction processing, consulting and software businesses are designed to bring buyers and sellers together, thus changing the shape of global commerce. Equifax serves the banking, financial, retail, credit card, automotive, telecommunications/utilities, government and healthcare industries. It is a leading supplier of business information solutions in Canada, the UK and Latin America. Equifax operates in 17 countries with sales in more than 40 countries.

Founded in 1899 in Atlanta, Equifax (NYSE: EFX) today has 10,000 employees around the world. Revenues for the 12 months ended March 31, 1998, totaled more than $1.4 billion. Visit the company's Internet web site at http://www.equifax.com.

Tempus Software, Inc. is the nation's leading developer of enterprise-wide patient and resource scheduling software. The Encompass(tm) system automates the process of scheduling patients for ancillary and surgical procedures. Tempus Software's healthcare access management solutions support fast and easy entry into a delivery system and expand information services in scheduling. Tempus currently has over 150 sites nationwide. Visit Tempus on the World Wide Web at http://www.tempus.com.