Hospital Leverages Federal Rule-Change Allowing Donations of Technology to
Community Physicians
CHICAGO and METAIRIE, La., June 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Allscripts,
the leading provider of clinical software and information solutions that
physicians use to improve healthcare, announced today that East Jefferson
General Hospital (EJGH) has selected the Allscripts Electronic Health Record
(EHR) for 138 of its employed and affiliated physicians, in the first phase of
an anticipated deployment to all of the hospital’s affiliated physicians. The
New Orleans-area hospital also will offer Allscripts electronic prescribing
technology at no charge to other medical staff who are not using the
Electronic Health Record at this time.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061005/ALLSCRIPTSLOGO-b)
In deploying the Allscripts Electronic Health Record for physicians in its
owned medical group as well as affiliated physicians, EJGH is leveraging
recent changes to the federal Stark regulations which allow hospitals to
subsidize the purchase of healthcare information technology for non-employed
physicians.
“By offering physicians in the East Bank of Jefferson Parish the
Allscripts electronic health record, we hope to provide a seamless connection
to critical patient information throughout the entire continuum of care,
anytime and anywhere,” said Mark J. Peters, MD, President and Chief Executive
Officer of East Jefferson General Hospital. “Our goal is to help all of the
region’s physicians to connect electronically to East Jefferson for truly
integrated patient care.”
Opened in 1971 as a non-profit hospital in Metairie, adjacent to New
Orleans, EJGH today has 450 beds and 3,000 employees. In 2002 the hospital was
named Louisiana’s first Nurse Magnet Hospital by the American Nurses
Credentialing Center, a status that places it among the nation’s top
hospitals. It is one of only eight facilities nationwide to hold affiliate
status with M.D. Anderson Physicians Network, the nation’s leader in cancer
care, and was recently ranked the No. 1 cardiac care hospital in Louisiana by
HealthGrades.
The Allscripts Electronic Health Record automates everyday clinical tasks
such as documenting patient care, ordering and reviewing tests, and
prescribing and refilling medications. EJGH will integrate the Allscripts
solution with its inpatient information systems, enabling physicians outside
the hospital to view the charts, schedules, lab results and radiology results
of their hospitalized patients. The Electronic Health Record will be provided
for EJGH physicians using secure Internet connections leveraging the Software
as a Service (SaaS) model, a simple, affordable means of delivering vital
patient information to caregivers without the upfront costs of purchasing new
equipment to host the solution themselves. The SaaS model also speeds
deployment and is becoming an increasingly important option for mid-size and
independent practices.
“Physicians want to focus their time, effort, and money on caring for
patients, not managing technology, and we think the Software as a Service
model will make it easier for East Jefferson’s affiliated physicians to enter
the electronic healthcare highway,” said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer
of Allscripts. “Thanks to East Jefferson’s leadership, more physicians in
Jefferson Parish will be able to improve the quality of care they deliver and
more effectively manage the costs of their own medical practices.”
As part of its communitywide information strategy, EJGH will encourage
affiliated physicians who do not implement the Allscripts EHR to adopt the
Allscripts ePrescribe solution, a Web-based electronic prescribing
application.
“Study after study has shown that electronic prescribing can help prevent
needless medical errors, so for those physicians who choose not to implement
the electronic health record, we want to make it as easy as possible for them
to still prescribe electronically,” said EJGH Chief Medical Information
Officer Chris Barrilleaux, MD. “We think electronic prescribing is a natural
first step towards implementation of a full electronic health record.”
Designed to appeal to physicians in solo practice or small groups, the
Allscripts ePrescribe solution requires no download, no new hardware, and
minimal training. All prescriptions are instantly checked for drug-to-drug,
drug-allergy and other potentially harmful interactions, and users receive
real-time notification of insurance formulary status from leading payers,
plans and pharmacy benefit managers.
In addition to the Allscripts solutions for physicians, EJGH’s vision
includes providing patients with a secure, online Personal Health Record and
patient-provider communications from Allscripts.
About East Jefferson General Hospital
East Jefferson General Hospital, Louisiana’s first Nurse Magnet hospital,
is a publicly owned, not-for-profit, community hospital providing high quality
care to the residents of the East Bank of Jefferson Parish and surrounding
communities. East Jefferson General Hospital opened in 1971.
About Allscripts
Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX) is the leading provider of clinical software,
connectivity and information solutions that physicians use to improve
healthcare. The company’s unique solutions inform, connect and transform
healthcare, delivering improved care at lower cost. More than 40,000
physicians and thousands of other healthcare professionals in clinics,
hospitals and extended care facilities nationwide utilize Allscripts to
automate everyday tasks such as writing prescriptions, documenting patient
care, managing billing and scheduling, and safely discharging patients, as
well as to connect with key information and stakeholders in the healthcare
system. To learn more, visit Allscripts 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 2007 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- 06/30/2008
/CONTACT: Dan Michelson, Chief Marketing Officer,
+1-312-506-1217, dan.michelson@allscripts.com, or Todd Stein, Senior
Manager|Public Relations, +1-312-506-1216, todd.stein@allscripts.com, both of
Allscripts; or Keith Darcey, Public and Media Relations of East Jefferson
General Hospital, +1-504-889-7110, kdarcey@ejgh.org/
/Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061005/ALLSCRIPTSLOGO-b
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com/
/Web site: https://www.allscripts.com /
(MDRX)
CO: Allscripts; East Jefferson General Hospital
ST: Illinois, Louisiana
IN: HEA CPR STW
SU:
PD-CS
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