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Drexel University College of Medicine Partners With Alliance Consulting to Develop Electronic Faculty Recruitment Tracking System

Drexel University College of Medicine announced today that it has collaborated with Alliance Consulting, a leading global software solutions and IT consulting firm, to develop a comprehensive, on-line faculty recruitment tracking system. In production since July 2006, the tracking system is proving to be successful in speeding up the lengthy process of recruiting superior faculty, further strengthening Drexel's commitment to leverage cutting-edge technologies to improve patient care and reduce administrative overhead.
The typical process that medical schools use to determine a candidate's eligibility for a faculty position includes: a rigorous background check on the candidate's credentials, education and training, practice history, board certifications, licensure, hospital affiliations and insurance claims. To perform these tasks, members from a wide variety of departments and offices across the university (including, but not limited to, hiring department, faculty affairs, legal counsel and risk management) must collaborate to complete the process of hiring in a timely fashion.

To absolve these challenges, Drexel University College of Medicine and Alliance Consulting developed this new tracking system that ultimately transforms this paper-intense, manual process into a secured, paperless, electronic workflow.

"Recruiting best-in-class members of the medical community is a key strategy for us," said Richard V. Homan, M.D., Dean and Senior Vice President for Health Affairs at Drexel University College of Medicine. "Since the system was implemented, we have experienced a considerable reduction in the time required to complete the examination of key medical personnel, giving us a significant competitive advantage within the marketplace. We are positioned to recruit and hire top talent ahead of our competition, which will ultimately allow us to expand our current efforts to lead cutting edge research as well as enhance our medical education programs and clinical care." In developing the system, Drexel University College of Medicine and Alliance Consulting leveraged the beta version of Microsoft's new Windows Workflow Foundation, a workflow engine, programming model and set of tools for developers to rapidly build workflow-enabled applications, scheduled for public release in early 2007 with the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0.

"We are delighted with the successful implementation of Drexel University College of Medicine's electronic faculty recruitment system, which is helping this key client solidify its leadership position within the healthcare industry," said Rich Napoli, Executive Vice President of Application Solutions for Alliance. "We are also proud that we have been able to grow our relationship with Microsoft as a result of this project. Our participation in the Windows Workflow Foundation Early Adopters Program allows us an elite position among consulting firms, as we are one of only a few firms worldwide who have had the privilege."

Paul Andrew, senior product manager of the Developer Division at Microsoft Corporation, said, "Windows Workflow Foundation represents a strategic investment by Microsoft in workflow technology, and we are pleased to work closely with Drexel University College of Medicine and Alliance Consulting. Microsoft is proud to showcase their competence and thought leadership as an example of the success early adopters of our technology are experiencing."

About Drexel University College of Medicine
Drexel University College of Medicine has established some of the most highly innovative and rigorous academic programs available today, incorporating the University's expertise in engineering and technology into traditional medical training. The College of Medicine has participated in pioneering clinical trials involving the world's first implantable artificial heart, established one of the largest regional centers for spinal cord research, developed the largest HIV/AIDS primary care practice in the region, and created one of the largest centers for malaria study in the nation. Drexel University College of Medicine has been designated one of 21 Vanguard National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and is highly respected in numerous other specialties including neuroscience, virology and toxicology. Visit http://www.drexelmed.edu/ for more information.

About Alliance Consulting
Alliance Consulting delivers IT consulting and software solutions to targeted clients worldwide. Alliance Consulting's solutions encompass strategic IT and business intelligence consulting, custom application development and packaged software integration, data warehouse integration and application management outsourcing. Alliance Consulting is a partner company of Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. For more information, please visit http://www.allianceconsulting.com/.

About Safeguard
Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. builds value in high-growth, revenue-stage information technology and life sciences businesses. Safeguard provides growth capital as well as a range of strategic, operating and management resources to our partner companies. The company participates in expansion financings, corporate spin-outs, management buyouts, recapitalizations, industry consolidations and early-stage financings. For more information about Safeguard, please visit http://www.safeguard.com/. Alliance

Consulting CONTACT: Rachel Sparrow of Drexel University College of Medicine,+1-215-255-7328, or rsparrow@drexelmed.edu; or Michele Lombardo of AllianceConsulting, +1-610-234-4334, or mlombardo@allianceconsulting.com Web site: http://www.alliance-consulting.com/http://www.drexelmed.edu/http://www.safeguard.com/
Source: PRNewswire
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