WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 2006--
EHR Software Solutions from Allscripts Comply with 100 Percent
of CCHIT Certification Criteria
At a press conference attended by Health and Human Services
Secretary Michael Leavitt, the Certification Commission for Healthcare
Information Technology (CCHIT(SM)) today announced that Allscripts is
CCHIT Certified(SM) for its HealthMatics(R) and TouchWorks(TM)
Electronic Health Records and meets CCHIT ambulatory Electronic Health
Record (EHR) criteria for 2006.
The press conference, which also announced a number of other
vendor approvals, took place at The George Washington University
Medical School, whose faculty physician group, The George Washington
University Medical Faculty Associates, has been successfully using
Allscripts TouchWorks Electronic Health Record to enhance the quality
of care, reinforce patient safety, and help better manage the cost of
care. The 270-physician multi-specialty group estimates the cost
savings from their Electronic Health Record will exceed $10 million
over five years, after all costs of the system, installation and
support.
Ambulatory Electronic Health Records are designed for physician
offices and clinics, where the majority of Americans receive their
healthcare. CCHIT is the recognized authority in the U.S. for
certifying EHR products – an independent, nonprofit, public/private
organization that sets the benchmark for healthcare information
technology.
As CCHIT Certified(SM) products, TouchWorks
https://www.allscripts.com/prdTWEMR.aspx and HealthMatics
https://www.allscripts.com/prdHealthMatics.aspx have been tested and
passed inspection of 100 percent of a comprehensive set of criteria
for:
-- functionality (ability to create and manage electronic records
for all patients, as well as automating workflow in a
physician's office),
-- interoperability (ability to receive and send electronic data
to other entities such as laboratories), and
-- security (ability to keep patients information safe).
The CCHIT Certified mark — a “seal of approval” for EHR products
— provides the first consensus-based, consistent benchmark for
ambulatory products. By looking to products with the CCHIT Certified
seal, physicians and other providers can be assured they are making a
reliable investment and insurers and other payers know the products
meet expected industry standards.
“Physicians who purchase certified products have the assurance
that they have been reviewed by a panel of judges, including
practicing physicians, and that they are being evaluated against
standards set by professionals in the field and successfully piloted
with products from large and small companies,” said Mark Leavitt,
M.D., Ph.D., Chair, CCHIT. “The quality and safety of EHR products can
now be measured using certification criteria that were developed
specifically for that purpose.”
Glen Tullman, Allscripts Chief Executive Officer, stated,
“Allscripts is pleased that CCHIT has certified both the TouchWorks
and HealthMatics Electronic Health Records. Physicians now can be even
more confident that when they select HealthMatics or TouchWorks, they
are choosing state-of-the-art technology that has been vetted by a
trusted third-party inspection process and meets both the clinical
needs of providers and the quality and safety needs of patients.”
Stephen Badger, Chief Executive Officer of The George Washington
University Medical Faculty Associates, (for digital photos, visit
https://www.allscripts.com/marketing/sites/GWUMFA_Album/index.html) who
introduced Mark Leavitt at the news conference, commented, “The
TouchWorks Electronic Health Record has enabled our physicians to
enhance the overall patient care provided while also reducing
administrative burdens and the potential for medical errors. We at The
George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates have long
known that TouchWorks meets the highest possible standards of
excellence.”
The goals of CCHIT product certification are to reduce the risk of
HIT investment by physicians and other providers; ensure
interoperability of HIT products; enhance the availability of HIT
adoption incentives from purchasers and payers; and protect the
privacy of personal health information.
“At North Fulton Family Medicine, we have used the HealthMatics
Electronic Health Record for several years, saving more than $1
million in our first 18 months of operation alone,” said James Morrow,
MD, Vice President of the eight-physician group practice in Cumming,
GA, and Chairman of the Ambulatory CCHIT Review Workgroup of the
Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS). “I can attest
that in the clinical setting this solution meets the highest
professional standards and it is great to see HealthMatics gain
CCHIT’s seal of approval.”
CCHIT’s certification compliance criteria and its design for a
certification inspection process have been thoroughly researched,
taking into account the state-of-the-art of EHRs and available
standards, and comparing certification processes in other industries
and other countries. The inspection process is based on real-life
medical scenarios designed to test products rigorously against the
clinical needs of providers and the quality and safety needs of
healthcare consumers and payers. One script, for example, recreates a
scenario of an elderly man with poorly controlled diabetes,
hypertension and other chronic conditions in order to test EHR
functions such as potential adverse drug reactions, disease management
and treatment plans.
About CCHIT
CCHIT was founded in 2004 with support from three leading industry
associations in healthcare information management and technology – The
American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), the
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and The
National Alliance for Health Information Technology (Alliance). In
September 2005, CCHIT was awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services to develop, create prototypes for, and
evaluate the certification criteria and inspection process for EHRs
and the networks through which they interoperate. More information on
CCHIT and a list of CCHIT Certified products is available at
www.cchit.org.
About Allscripts
Allscripts is the leading provider of clinical software,
connectivity and information solutions that physicians use to improve
healthcare. The Company’s business groups provide unique solutions
that inform, connect and transform healthcare. The Clinical Solutions
Group’s award-winning software applications include electronic health
record, practice management, e-prescribing, document imaging,
emergency department and care management solutions. Additionally,
Allscripts provides clinical product education and connectivity
solutions for physicians and patients through its Physicians
Interactive(TM) Group and medication fulfillment services through its
Medication Services Group. To learn more, visit Allscripts on the Web
at www.allscripts.com.
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements about
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions that involve risks and uncertainties.
These statements are developed by combining currently available
information with Allscripts beliefs and assumptions. Forward-looking
statements do not guarantee future performance. Because Allscripts
cannot predict all of the risks and uncertainties that may affect it,
or control the ones it does predict, Allscripts’ actual results may be
materially different from the results expressed in its forward-looking
statements. For a more complete discussion of the risks, uncertainties
and assumptions that may affect Allscripts, see the Company’s 2005
Annual Report on Form 10-K, available through the Web site maintained
by the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.
CONTACT: Allscripts Contact:
Dan Michelson, 312-506-1217
dan.michelson@allscripts.com
or
CCHIT
C. Sue Reber, 503-703-0813
sreber@cchit.org
SOURCE: Allscripts