CHICAGO & TAMPA, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 31, 2006–Allscripts
(Nasdaq:MDRX), the leading provider of clinical software, connectivity
and information solutions that physicians use to improve healthcare,
announced today that the University of South Florida Physicians Group
(USFPG) at USF Health, has selected and will invest in excess of $2
million in the TouchWorks(TM) Electronic Health Record as the
cornerstone of an ambitious, $15-million program to create a national
center of healthcare excellence.
“The electronic health record is the basis for the building of
knowledge that’s at the core of our commitment to provide patients the
highest quality, best technology and most personal service,” said
Stephen Klasko, MD, Vice President for USF Health and Dean of the
College of Medicine. “The selection and implementation of Allscripts
advanced solutions is critical to the development of our new Centers
for Advanced Healthcare and will position USF Physicians Group at USF
Health as the clear leader in the region.”
USFPG is the multi-specialty faculty practice of USF Health’s
College of Medicine. The group’s 415 physicians, 125 mid-level
providers and nearly 200 residents care for more than 31,000 patients
and oversee 396,000 outpatient visits annually throughout the Greater
Tampa Bay Area. The Allscripts solution will be implemented at all 12
USFPG locations over the next 12 months, as well as in USF’s new $88
million Centers for Advanced Healthcare, which encompasses two new
state-of-the-art ambulatory care centers. The two facilities will open
as “paperless” practices, using the web-based TouchWorks system to
document and share all patient information.
The Centers for Advanced Healthcare are a part of an initiative to
bring a modern electronic health record system to USFPG and use it as
a basis for quality, safety and superior education for USF’s medical
students. USFPG’s decision to implement an electronic health record is
also being used as the launching pad to build two additional large
outpatient centers.
“The integrated Allscripts system will enable our clinicians
across the region to instantly access patient records and the latest
evidence-based knowledge when and where they need it,” said Joseph
Jackson, Executive Director of USFPG. “And TouchWorks iHealth will
drive our vision of patient-centric care, allowing our patients to
take more control over their own care with an online personal health
record and the ability to make appointments, pay bills, see test
results, request prescriptions and even hold e-consultations with
their physicians online.”
Allscripts streamlines and improves the practice of medicine by
simplifying the work of physicians, nurses and other healthcare
professionals. TouchWorks automates and speeds common clinical
activities such as prescribing medications, ordering lab tests,
viewing test results, making referrals electronically and documenting
clinical encounters.
USFPG selected Allscripts after an exhaustive six-month search by
a 12-person task force that assessed the competencies of every top
vendor of electronic health records. Key reasons for selecting
Allscripts, according to Jackson, included the company’s reputation of
quickly deploying successful electronic health record systems at large
academic medical centers, and its seamless integration with IDX,
USFPG’s practice management system. Allscripts and IDX, now a part of
GE Healthcare, share a strategic relationship that will directly link
the clinical and financial information of the practice.
“At the end of the day we felt Allscripts could help us reach our
goals more quickly than anyone else, and we had faith that their
vision for the future of healthcare matched our own,” said Stephen
Fisher, USFPG’s Director of Information Services. “We were
particularly impressed that Allscripts Chief Executive Officer took a
central role in the project.”
“TouchWorks is normally used to streamline and improve the
practice of medicine by automating common clinical activities,” said
Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts. “What impressed
me about USF is Dr. Klasko’s vision to use the electronic health
record not only to substitute for existing processes, and innovations,
but to transform the way healthcare will be delivered in the future.
With their investment, not only in the electronic health record, but
in new facilities and research, we expect USF to help define the way
quality healthcare will be delivered in the future.”
About USF Physicians Group
The USF Physicians Group (USFPG) is the multi-specialty faculty
practice of USF Health’s College of Medicine. The group includes 415
physicians and more than 100 nurse practitioners, who bring the latest
advances in health care to the Tampa Bay area. USFPG provides a wide
range of specialties, from primary care to the most specialized of
care. Many of USF’s doctors rank among the best in the nation,
according to a survey of their peers.
About Allscripts
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, 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 medical fulfillment
services through its Medication Services Group. To learn more, visit
Allscripts on the Web at www.allscripts.com.
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements about
Allscripts 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 2004 Annual Report on Form
10-K, available through the Web site maintained by the Securities and
Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.
CONTACT: Allscripts
Dan Michelson, 312-506-1217
dan.michelson@allscripts.com
or
USF Physicians Group
Michael Hoad, 813-974-6972
mhoad@hsc.usf.edu
SOURCE: Allscripts