Indiana Group Upgrades from Allscripts Document Management; Expects 12-month Break-Even on Clinical & Financial Investment
CHICAGO and FORT WAYNE, Ind., April 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ —
Allscripts, the leading provider of clinical software, connectivity and
information solutions that physicians use to improve healthcare, announced
today that The Heart Center Medical Group has selected the Allscripts
Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Practice Management (PM) solution to
automate and connect clinical and administrative processes for its
50 physicians.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061005/ALLSCRIPTSLOGO-b)
The Heart Center is a physician-owned multi-specialty group practice
operating out of a new state-of-the-art 82,000-square-foot facility and nine
other locations across the Fort Wayne area.
“We’re trying to lead a little healthcare revolution right here in Indiana
and Allscripts is the right partner to help,” said Joel R. Sauer, Chief
Executive Officer of the Heart Center. “It’s a great situation when you can
provide better patient care with a tool that let’s you do better financially,
too.”
In 2001, the Heart Center implemented the Impact.MD document management
solution from Allscripts. Impact.MD improves chart access and practice
workflow by electronically scanning and filing current documents and making
them accessible to the entire staff, regardless of their location. The Heart
Center decided to implement the Allscripts solution as a step towards adopting
a full Electronic Health Record.
“It’s the best thing we ever did,” Sauer said of deploying Impact.MD. “We
now have lower costs on a per physician basis than we could ever have achieved
with paper records. And we believe the electronic health record will bring
even better results.”
Sauer said the practice expects to hit the break-even point on its
Allscripts EHR-PM purchase within eight to 12 months. Savings will come
mainly in the form of reduced transcription expenses, personnel efficiencies
in the clinical, support and billing areas, and the ability to more accurately
capture charges, which lowers claims denials.
“Very few things generate a payback in one year but Allscripts has
consistently proven they can do it,” said Sauer. “In my mind, though, it
doesn’t matter when we hit that payback because we’ll be doing a better job
for our patients, better for ourselves, and more efficiently. The icing on
the cake is that we can provide better care while making it positive for us
financially in the long run.”
Allscripts Chief Executive Officer Glen Tullman commented, “We’re excited
that the Heart Center and other leading cardiology groups think of Allscripts
when they want to take their practices to the next level. The revolution that
the Heart Center is leading will redefine how we manage chronic disease and
maintain patient health. It’s a transformation that Allscripts fuels with the
right information delivered in real-time when and where it’s needed.”
The Heart Center looked at other integrated Electronic Health Record and
Practice Management systems before selecting Allscripts. In the end, the
group chose Allscripts because of its history of success with the company, and
because no other EHR-PM solution on the market could match Allscripts for ease
of use and depth of functionality. Sauer said the group’s physicians were
especially excited about Allscripts automated health maintenance plans, which
help providers rapidly sort through complex data to more accurately understand
the patient in less time.
“When our doctors saw the health-maintenance screen, everybody’s eyes lit
up,” said Sauer. “When you can see in one place what every other provider is
doing, you look like a hero to patients. You can say ‘hey, I may be your
cardiologist but I see you’re overdue for your colonoscopy.’ Patients win, we
win, everybody wins.”
The Allscripts Electronic Health Record will enable The Heart Center’s
physicians to instantly access patient information when and where they need it
— in the main campus or satellite offices, at the hospital or while on-call
at home. The web-based solution speeds and automates everyday clinical tasks
such as prescribing and refilling medications, ordering and viewing tests, and
documenting care. Allscripts PM combines sophisticated scheduling and
financial management tools in a single package that is fully integrated with
the EHR.
About The Heart Center Medical Group
The Heart Center Medical Group is a physician-owned multi-specialty
medical practice that has served the Fort Wayne community for more than 30
years. The group’s 50 physicians serve as a resource for the diagnosis and
treatment of illness, as well as disease prevention and the promotion of
wellness. For more information, visit http://www.heartcentermedicalgroup.com.
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- 04/30/2008 /CONTACT: Dan Michelson, Chief Marketing Officer, +1-312-506-1217, dan.michelson@allscripts.com, or Todd Stein, Public Relations Director, +1-312-506-1216, todd.stein@allscripts.com, both of Allscripts; or Joel R. Sauer, Chief Executive Officer of The Heart Center, +1-260-434-6491, jsauer@hcmgmail.com/ /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 http://www.heartcentermedicalgroup.com / (MDRX) CO: Allscripts; The Heart Center Medical Group ST: Illinois, Indiana IN: HEA MTC CPR STW SU: PDT GL-ND -- AQW075A -- 4665 04/30/2008 12:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com