California’s Second Largest Medical Group to Provide Physicians Instant Access to 500,000 Patient Records, Lab Results and Clinical Data
CHICAGO & TORRANCE, Calif., Feb 23, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Allscripts Healthcare Solutions (Nasdaq: MDRX), the leading
provider of clinical software and information solutions that
physicians use to improve healthcare, announced that HealthCare
Partners Medical Group, the second largest medical group in
California, signed an agreement last week with Allscripts under which
it will implement the TouchWorks(TM) Electronic Health Record (EHR) to
connect the group’s nearly 400 physicians and clinicians. Allscripts
indicated the contract is its largest to date, with a value in excess
of $4 million. The Allscripts solution will enable physicians at all
36 of the group’s Southern California facilities to instantly read,
edit and share with other clinicians up-to-date clinical information
on more than half a million patients.
“Implementing the electronic health record from Allscripts will
provide all of our medical group physicians and clinicians a seamless
connection to the entire continuum of care, creating an electronic
dialogue between physicians at many locations, their patients, payers
and all of the other healthcare stakeholders,” said Robert Margolis,
M.D., Chief Executive Officer of HealthCare Partners Medical Group.
“That kind of real-time connectivity fosters operational efficiencies
that will improve patient safety, reduce practice variation,
incorporate best evidence of medicine care processes and bring
measurable value to our patients and physicians. It’s the kind of
technology that is essential to carrying medicine forward into the
21st century.”
The medical group also has plans to extend the EHR to its nearly
2,000 affiliated physicians in Southern California, providing the
physicians market-leading functionality at a reduced cost while
leveraging the group’s size to improve the quality of care for more
patients.
“The ability to eventually connect all of our affiliated
physicians with our employed physicians played a big role in our
decision to choose Allscripts,” said Zan Calhoun, HealthCare Partners’
Chief Information Officer. “Their web-based architecture was well
suited to our needs, both in technology and the ability to deploy the
EHR cost effectively. The Allscripts solution also integrates
seamlessly with our existing IDX practice management system, which
greatly simplifies the process of implementing the EHR and driving new
efficiencies and cost savings.”
HealthCare Partners will integrate TouchWorks with its existing
Flowcast(TM) revenue cycle management solution from IDX Systems
Corporation. The integration of TouchWorks and Flowcast will directly
link clinical and financial activities and drive operational
improvements and is backed by a 10-year strategic relationship between
the two companies.
“HealthCare Partners is known for its high patient satisfaction
and quality rankings and has long been recognized as one of the most
progressive, stable and financially sound medical groups in Southern
California,” said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts.
“Connecting providers to each other and to other key stakeholders will
further advance HealthCare Partners’ efforts to ensure that both
physicians and patients have instant access to information where and
when they need it.”
The TouchWorks EHR simplifies the art, science, and process of
caring for patients by automating the most common physician
activities, including prescribing medications, ordering lab tests,
viewing test results, and documenting clinical encounters. The
award-winning EHR also offers enhanced patient safety measures such as
automated medical practice guidelines and alerts that warn physicians
of potentially dangerous drug interactions. In addition, Allscripts
new TouchWorks iHealth functionality extends the physician’s reach by
providing patients secure online consultations, standards-based
automated disease management services and personal health records.
About HealthCare Partners Medical Group
HealthCare Partners Medical Group and its affiliated independent
physician association (IPAs) serve over 500,000 patients. The medical
group’s group-model division provides medical services through
approximately 400 physicians at 32 offices and four urgent care
centers throughout greater Los Angeles. Its IPAs provide care through
hundreds of other offices around Los Angeles and Orange County. It is
the second largest medical group in California after Kaiser
Permanente. For more information about HealthCare Partners, please
visit their website at www.healthcarepartners.com.
About Allscripts
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions (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 clinical
software applications include electronic health record (EHR),
e-prescribing and document imaging 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. 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 2003
Annual Report on Form 10-K, available through the Web site maintained
by the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.
SOURCE: Allscripts
Allscripts Dan Michelson, 312-506-1317 dan.michelson@allscripts.com or Mann & Associates (for HealthCare Partners Medical Group) Kimi Mann, 323-256-5081 mann-associates@worldnet.att.net