Allscripts Supports Medicare Pay-for-Quality Initiatives for Physicians
Physicians Quality Reporting Initiative and Medicare Care Management Performance Embedded in Company’s Electronic Health Record and Practice Management Solutions
CHICAGO (July 05, 2007) –
Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX), the leading provider of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions that physicians use to improve healthcare, today announced that its data capture tools support physician practices in preparing for the Physicians Quality Reporting Initiative, the Medicare Care Management Program, and other federal pay-for-quality programs. Allscripts clients can participate in the federal programs using the current functionality of HealthMatics(R) Electronic Health Record (EHR) and HealthMatics Ntierprise Practice Management (PM) system, as well as the TouchWorks(TM) EHR and PM solution.
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The Physicians Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI), a program of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that took effect on July 1, provides a 1.5 percent bonus for physicians who successfully report a designated set of quality measures for covered Medicare services. Allscripts EHR and PM systems make it easier for practices to qualify for the PQRI bonuses by helping to capture accurate, comprehensive PQRI data elements generated during the patient encounter.
“Allscripts lets us avoid combing through thousands of paper charts looking for the right data, and so substantially speeds the reimbursement process for us,” said John Schaeffer, MD, President of North Ohio Heart Center, a 30-physician cardiology practice in suburban Cleveland, and a respected member of several national healthcare quality organizations. “By helping us expedite information to CMS, Allscripts significantly enhances our ability to respond to the data capture and reporting challenges of PQRI and other pay-for-quality programs.”
Physicians using the Allscripts solutions can gather information required for the federal programs during the normal course of documenting a patient encounter with the Electronic Health Record. Appropriate disease codes, procedure codes, and modifiers are all documented during the encounter and included in the report that is sent to CMS. Current functionality of the Allscripts solutions allows users to choose the programs in which they wish to participate, as well as the measures that are applicable to their practice, and the frequency of reports. Physicians also can define the metrics to best fit local workflows, report outcomes via claim forms and data warehouses, and receive feedback on adherence to evidence-based best medical practices.
The Allscripts pay-for-quality program is powered by the clinical templates and short lists built into both of the company’s Electronic Health Records. Allscripts clinical templates include care management protocols that help guide physicians during patient encounters, and are mapped to CMS’s Doctor’s Office Quality-Information Technology (DOQ-IT) quality indicators. Allscripts was the first EHR vendor in the nation to meet all 35 reporting requirements for the DOQ-IT program. Allscripts also was one of the first EHR vendors to successfully submit patient data to the QualityNet Exchange, a
DOQ-IT program designed to encourage physicians to adopt Electronic Health Records for collecting, utilizing and reporting health performance measures. The data, obtained through HealthMatics EHR, was successfully submitted by The Family Healthcare Center (TFHC), a family practice in Clinton, SC.
“Allscripts has made it far easier for us to enhance patient care by taking part in pay-for-quality programs that critically analyze the quality of care delivered,” said Nick Ulmer, MD, Partner and Co-founder of The Family Healthcare Center. “The fact that our practice in rural South Carolina was able to reach this level of clinical data measurement demonstrates how the Allscripts team can successfully integrate innovation, connectivity, and office systems technology in a busy primary care setting and bring the best in healthcare to any practice, anywhere.”
Allscripts solutions also support participation in a second federal pay-for-quality effort — the Medicare Care Management Performance (MCMP) demonstration. The three-year CMS pilot program will compensate physicians based on the quality of care they provide to Medicare beneficiaries in small or medium-sized practices in Arkansas, California, Massachusetts, and Utah. During the first year of the pilot, physicians will be paid for reporting data on quality measures. In subsequent years, the program will offer physicians annual performance-based bonuses of $10,000 per clinician, and an additional reward enhancement of up to 25 percent for using automated tools approved by the Certification Commission on Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT). Allscripts earned that designation in July 2006 as part of the first group of healthcare IT vendors to be CCHIT certified. The Allscripts clinical templates for MCMP are being used in practices across the country today.
“The architecture of our Electronic Health Record and practice management solutions lets us respond quickly to support evolving healthcare quality measures, requirements, and initiatives,” said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts. “Our clients can feel confident that Allscripts will support future and current pay-for-quality initiatives because, in the final analysis, we all share the same goal of providing higher-quality care at lower cost.”
About Allscripts
Allscripts is the leading provider of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions that physicians use to improve healthcare. The Company’s business units provide unique solutions that inform, connect and transform healthcare. Allscripts award-winning software applications include Electronic Health Records, practice management, e-prescribing, document imaging, emergency department, and care management solutions, all offered through the Company’s Clinical Solutions units. Additionally, Allscripts provides clinical product education and connectivity solutions for physicians and patients through its Physicians Interactive(TM) unit, and medication fulfillment services through its Medication Services unit. To learn more, visit Allscripts on the Web at http://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 2006 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
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/CONTACT: Dan Michelson, Chief Marketing Officer, +1-312-506-1217,
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(MDRX)
CO: Allscripts
ST: Illinois
IN: CPR HEA STW
SU:
KK-AE
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5143 07/05/2007 09:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
Source: Allscripts
