CHICAGO & INDIANAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–March 3, 2005–Allscripts
Healthcare Solutions (Nasdaq:MDRX), the leading provider of clinical
software and information solutions that physicians use to improve
healthcare, announced today that St. Vincent Health, a 16-hospital
Catholic healthcare system located throughout central Indiana, will
implement the TouchWorks Electronic Health Record (EHR) for use in the
ambulatory setting by its employed physicians. TouchWorks will enable
the St. Vincent physicians to instantly access up-to-date clinical
information on patients, without relying on inefficient paper records.
“We believe the electronic health record is becoming the ‘standard
of care’ in American healthcare and we expect St. Vincent Health will
be one of the leaders driving that change,” said Bruce Haga, Vice
President of the St. Vincent Physician Network. St. Vincent employs
approximately 300 physicians in Indiana, including the medical faculty
and residents of St. Vincent Hospital. “As a member of the nation’s
largest nonprofit healthcare system, we are always looking for new
ways to enhance the quality and efficiency of our physicians, attract
the best new residents to our teaching program, and improve our
connectivity with independent physicians. TouchWorks is a turn-key
solution that will drive every one of those strategies.”
St. Vincent will roll out TouchWorks first to its medical faculty
and two Indianapolis practice sites, Haga said. The network then plans
to extend the EHR to its teaching clinics and to each of its new
practice sites, of which four are planned for development in 2005.
Eventually, all of the system’s physicians who are not hospital-based
will use TouchWorks, and Haga plans to offer the EHR as an incentive
for independent physicians to link to the system.
The TouchWorks EHR reduces or eliminates the need for paper
records and enhances physician productivity 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 to its other benefits, Haga said he expects TouchWorks
to become a valuable teaching tool and an integral part of St.
Vincent’s residency training program. “TouchWorks will allow us to
attract the best residents, who will view TouchWorks as a value add
compared to other organizations,” he said. “They know that working
with a top EHR is essential to preparing them for how medicine will be
practiced in the future.”
“Being selected by St. Vincent Health, one of the most prestigious
systems in the country, is a strong vote of confidence for
Allscripts,” said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts.
“Given that this was a critical decision for St. Vincent, we’re proud
that they chose TouchWorks after a rigorous evaluation process, many
site visits and a number of face to face meetings.”
St. Vincent Health will integrate TouchWorks with its existing
Flowcast(TM) practice management solution from IDX Systems
Corporation. The integration of TouchWorks and Flowcast will directly
link clinical and financial activities and drive operational
improvements in non-hospital based offices.
About St. Vincent Health
St.Vincent Health is a nonprofit, spiritually-centered health care
system, sponsored by Ascension Health of St. Louis, Mo., the nation’s
largest Catholic health system. St.Vincent Health is Indiana’s largest
healthcare employer, with 16 health ministries serving 45 counties in
central Indiana. The St.Vincent Health ministry includes St.Vincent
Indianapolis Hospital; St. Joseph Hospital in Kokomo; Saint John’s
Health System in Anderson; St.Vincent Carmel Hospital; St.Vincent
Women’s Hospital; St.Vincent Pediatric Rehabilitation Center;
St.Vincent Clay Hospital in Brazil; St.Vincent Frankfort Hospital;
St.Vincent Jennings Hospital in North Vernon; St.Vincent Mercy
Hospital in Elwood; St.Vincent New Hope; St.Vincent Randolph Hospital
in Winchester; St.Vincent Stress Center; St.Vincent Williamsport
Hospital; St.Vincent Children’s Hospital; and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Hospital.
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.
CONTACT: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions
Dan Michelson, 312-506-1317
dan.michelson@allscripts.com
or
St. Vincent Health
Jennifer Northern, 317-415-6176
SOURCE: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions