Ness Technologies led consortium to provide Electronic Healthcare Services system for Slovak Republic

Ness Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSTC and TASE: NSTC), a global provider of information technology solutions and services, announced today that Ness, as the leader of a consortium with its partner Lynx, Ltd., has won a public tender with the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic to provide the first phase of an Electronic Healthcare Services system, valued at EUR32.4 million, or approximately $44 million, excluding VAT. The term of the initial phase is 24 months.

Ness will be responsible for the development of the system software and will serve as system integrator, in work representing EUR17.8 million, or approximately $24 million, excluding VAT, of the total phase one project budget. Lynx, a provider of security solutions and information systems, will be responsible for security and infrastructure, representing EUR14.6 million, or approximately $20 million, excluding VAT, with its partners.

The consortium consists of companies with extensive experience implementing healthcare information systems in many countries. The project, which takes into account the process priorities in the provision of healthcare set by the Slovak Ministry of Health, will utilize technologies from well-known international vendors.

The objectives of the phase one implementation are: - establishing a National Health Portal, to ensure the central provision of public health-related information to patients, healthcare personnel and external organizations, - building a system of electronic appointment scheduling - so-called eAllocation - to facilitate citizens' access to healthcare services, - establishing electronic prescription and medication processes - so-called ePrescription and eMedication - to cover the issues of prescription drug distribution with electronic support, and - creating an Electronic Health Book for each citizen, in this phase providing the citizens and doctors with informative health data on a patient.

"Ness has delivered and acted as system integrator on similar projects in the United States and in Israel, for very large healthcare organizations, covering a wide healthcare spectrum in these countries," said Martin Kohut, Managing Director of Ness Slovakia. "eHealth computerization is a broad and complex task which requires a range of skills and expertise, and we and the consortium of companies we represent have an extensive track record in the field of healthcare informatics. This expertise forms the basis for this socially important implementation in Slovakia, which we expect to lead to further phases of healthcare computerization."

"The first phase of this project will create the basic pillars of healthcare computerization in Slovakia," said Zoltan Kollar, Managing Director, Lynx, Ltd. "The eHealth project is long-term, but the first demonstrable prototypes and samples will be presented at the National conference in May 2010. The goal of the project is to enable the citizens of Slovakia to get better healthcare and improve the availability of information regarding the healthcare provided. At the same time, the information and information systems must have the level of security required by the European Union."