Commitment to hospital/physician communication. Interview by Bill W. Childs.

SMS, an international corporation headquartered in Malvern, PA, is a leading provider of information systems and services to the healthcare industry. Although best known for its acute care hospital information systems, SMS expanded its market focus in 1980 with the establishment of its Physician Services Division. Its emergence as a leader in the physician information marketplace has resulted in an increase in contract signings of 24 percent in the past six months. The division employs 640 people in 28 offices nationwide. Products of the division include SIGNATURE, an on-line mainframe-based financial, patient and clinical management information system that operates in-house or remotely; the Physician Office System, a PC-based business office system; and Practice Management, SMS' business office/accounts receivable management service.