Top-Ranked Academic Health System to Provide Real-Time, Secure Access to Nearly One Million Patient Medical Records
CHICAGO & ROCHESTER, N.Y., Mar 09, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Allscripts Healthcare Solutions (Nasdaq:MDRX), the leading
provider of clinical software and information solutions that
physicians use to improve healthcare, announced today that the
University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) will implement its
TouchWorks electronic health record (EHR), enabling 350 providers to
instantly access the medical records of nearly one million patients
across 11 counties in upstate New York.
“With the implementation of the TouchWorks EHR, URMC is leveraging
cutting-edge technology to improve the safety, efficacy, and economy
of ambulatory patient care delivery,” said Dr. David Krusch, Chief
Medical Information Officer for URMC and Strong Health. “My partners
and their staffs are ecstatic that they’ll now be able to get instant
and secure access to a single patient-centric interdisciplinary record
containing the full breadth of our patients’ updated clinical
information at all of our practice sites. We have already seen
dramatic improvements not only in quality of patient care, but also in
office based workflow.”
Before deciding to implement TouchWorks, URMC conducted an
extensive evaluation of other EHRs on the market as well as a pilot of
TouchWorks with 28 physicians. A rigorous analysis of the pilot’s
results demonstrated that the TouchWorks EHR boosted the pilot
physicians’ efficiency so dramatically that URMC recouped its costs in
less than two years, said Marty Haibach, Director of Finance and
Administration for URMC’s Medical Faculty Group. That solid,
measurable return on investment convinced the medical center’s Board
of Directors to approve a system-wide rollout of TouchWorks.
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.
Jerry Powell, URMC’s Chief Information Officer, said TouchWorks
brings the added advantage of providing a centralized EHR solution for
the medical center’s nearly 70 specialty groups, some of which were so
eager to get an EHR that they built their own rudimentary systems.
“TouchWorks is flexible enough and provides enough functionality to
meet the needs of all our physician faculty members, no matter what
their medical specialty is,” said Powell. “By offering one centralized
solution, we’re able to leverage the efficiencies and cost-savings of
the EHR across our entire provider base.”
“Being chosen by a world class academic medical facility like the
University of Rochester Medical Center demonstrates the ability of
TouchWorks to deliver measurable, financial results as well as
enhanced quality of care across a broad network of providers,” said
Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts. “We are proud
that the TouchWorks solution is the first choice for improving
clinical outcomes and efficiency at many of our nation’s top academic
medical groups.”
URMC is already implementing TouchWorks, which is fully integrated
into the medical center’s 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.
About the University of Rochester Medical Center
The University of Rochester Medical Center is comprised of the
School of Medicine and Dentistry, the School of Nursing, Strong
Memorial Hospital, Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong, the
University of Rochester Medical Faculty Group, and Dentistry at the
University of Rochester Medical Center. All but Dentistry occupy a
4-million-square-foot complex located next to the university’s River
Campus; the Eastman Dental Center occupies a building adjacent the
medical center complex.
About Strong Health
As one of the nation’s top academic health systems, Strong Health
is upstate New York’s premier health care delivery network. Anchored
by Strong Memorial Hospital – the University of Rochester’s primary
teaching affiliate – Strong Health also includes Highland Hospital,
Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong, Eastman Dental Center, The
Highlands senior living communities, and Visiting Nurse Service, a
licensed home-health agency. In addition, Strong Health has alliances
with several rural hospitals to extend its tertiary care services
throughout an 11-county region. More than 1,000 physicians are
affiliated with Strong Health, including the faculty of the University
of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and School of Nursing.
As the delivery network for the University of Rochester Medical
Center, Strong Health patients benefit from robust teaching and
biomedical research programs. Together, Strong Health’s acute care
hospitals log more than 52,000 discharges, 562,000 clinic visits and
110,000 emergency department visits.
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 Healthcare Solutions
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Dan Michelson, 312-506-1217 dan.michelson@allscripts.com or University of Rochester Lori Barrette, 585-275-1310 loribarrette@urmc.rochester.edu