Grant-Funded EHR to Benefit the Mississippi Delta Region's Medically
Underserved Population, Hard-Hit by Hurricane Katrina
NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — From the floor of the 2007
HIMSS Annual Conference and Exhibition, Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX), the leading
provider of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions that
physicians use to improve healthcare, announced today that Delta Health
Alliance has selected the TouchWorks(TM) Electronic Health Record (EHR) to
automate, inform and connect more than 500 physicians. The Mississippi Delta
region served by Delta Health was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and
is among the poorest and most disadvantaged areas in the nation.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061005/ALLSCRIPTSLOGO-b )
Delta Health, an alliance of six state-funded universities and three
primary healthcare organizations including the University of Mississippi
Medical Center in Jackson, will deploy the Electronic Health Record to improve
health outcomes for the Delta’s patients and aid in the region’s recovery. The
implementation is being funded by a $25 million grant awarded to Delta Health
in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina by the federal Health Resources and
Services Administration (HRSA).
“We have a dire healthcare situation in the Mississippi Delta, made worse
by Hurricane Katrina, and this technology will help address many of the issues
we face in this region,” said Cass Pennington, Chief Executive Officer of
Delta Health Alliance. “Allscripts will help our providers in urban settings
and remote areas of the Delta communicate with each other and get the clinical
information they need to provide the best care for their patients, many of
whom have multiple chronic conditions and are seen by multiple providers who
may be hundreds of miles apart. The Electronic Health Record will bring all
the information together in one place that’s easily accessible by all our
providers, no matter where they are.”
Delta Health reviewed all the leading Electronic Health Records and found
TouchWorks to be far superior. TouchWorks (www.allscripts.com/touchworks)
provides instant access to patient information and automates everyday clinical
tasks. To further enable global access to patient information during
emergencies, TouchWorks iHealth provides Delta Health patients with a secure
online Personal Health Record and physician-patient communications from Medem.
The system’s user-friendly interface and electronic prescribing capability
also appealed to Delta Health.
“We were especially impressed that Allscripts facilitates documentation
for a retina specialist as well as it does for a primary care physician,” said
Karen Fox, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer of Delta Health Alliance and
Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Mississippi in Jackson.
“That level of cross-specialty functionality is hard to find. And we were very
impressed that the company’s CEO took a personal interest in Delta Health and
understood the issues that are most important to us.”
Allscripts Chief Executive Officer Glen Tullman commented, “This is an
important initiative for the region and we are fortunate to have the
technology as well as the opportunity to help. Our Electronic Health Record
is a critical part of enabling Delta Health to deliver the highest quality
care to the patients of the Mississippi Delta region.”
In addition to the Electronic Health Record initiative, Delta Health will
make electronic prescribing available to every physician in Mississippi as the
regional supporter of the National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative(SM)
(NEPSI(SM)), a coalition of healthcare and technology companies led by
Allscripts that is offering free electronic prescribing software to every
physician in America. NEPSI (www.nationalerx.com) is sponsored by Dell, Aetna,
Cisco Systems, Fujitsu, Microsoft, Sprint Nextel, SureScripts, Wellpoint and
Wolters Kluwer Health, as well as Horizon BCBS of New Jersey and 12 regional
medical organizations across the U.S. Google provides the specialized search
capabilities of the product.
“The NEPSI program delivers instant access to medication information as
well as allergies and prior adverse reactions in the event of another
disaster,” said Fox. “The e-prescribing solution stores information safely
online, and dramatically improves patient safety. Delta Health is proud to
support NEPSI by offering training, education and support for the thousands of
Mississippi physicians in small practices who don’t already have an e-
prescribing solution. In combination with the Electronic Health Record
initiative, this program cements Delta Health’s leadership role in addressing
the health problems of the poor and medically underserved people of the Delta
region.”
About Delta Health Alliance
The Delta Health Alliance was founded in 2001 to address health issues in
the Mississippi Delta, and is a partnership between Delta State University,
Mississippi State University, Mississippi Valley State University, University
of Mississippi Medical Center, and Delta Council. Delta Health Alliance also
has four associate partners: The Mississippi Association of Community Health
Centers, Mississippi Medical Association, Mississippi Hospital Association,
and Area Health and Education Centers. These organizations collaborate to
create a comprehensive program that addresses the longstanding, unmet rural
health needs of the Mississippi Delta, and focus on increasing access and
availability of care, conducting and applying health research, and offering
health education programs. To learn more, visit Delta Health Alliance at
http://www.deltahealthalliance.com.
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, electronic 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
https://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 http://www.sec.gov.
SOURCE Allscripts
-0- 02/27/2007
/CONTACT: Dan Michelson, Chief Marketing Officer, +1-312-506-1217, or
dan.michelson@allscripts.com, or Todd Stein, Senior Manager, Public Relations,
+1-312-506-1216, or todd.stein@allscripts.com, both of Allscripts; or Karen C.
Fox, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer of Delta Health Alliance, +1-662-686-3520,
or kfox@deltahealthalliance.org/
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/Web site: https://www.allscripts.com
http://www.deltahealthalliance.com
https://www.allscripts.com/touchworks
http://www.nationalerx.com/
(MDRX)
CO: Allscripts; Delta Health Alliance
ST: Louisiana, Illinois
IN: MTC CPR STW HEA
SU: CON
DS-NL
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8891 02/27/2007 09:30 EST http://www.prnewswire.com