Delta Health Alliance Selects Allscripts Electronic Health Record for 500 Physicians
Grant-Funded EHR to Benefit the Mississippi Delta Region’s Medically Underserved Population, Hard-Hit by Hurricane Katrina
NEW ORLEANS (February 27, 2007) –
From the floor of the 2007 HIMSS Annual Conference and Exhibition, Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX), the leading provider of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions that physicians use to improve healthcare, announced today that Delta Health Alliance has selected the TouchWorks(TM) Electronic Health Record (EHR) to automate, inform and connect more than 500 physicians. The Mississippi Delta region served by Delta Health was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and is among the poorest and most disadvantaged areas in the nation.
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Delta Health, an alliance of six state-funded universities and three primary healthcare organizations including the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, will deploy the Electronic Health Record to improve health outcomes for the Delta’s patients and aid in the region’s recovery. The implementation is being funded by a $25 million grant awarded to Delta Health in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
“We have a dire healthcare situation in the Mississippi Delta, made worse by Hurricane Katrina, and this technology will help address many of the issues we face in this region,” said Cass Pennington, Chief Executive Officer of Delta Health Alliance. “Allscripts will help our providers in urban settings and remote areas of the Delta communicate with each other and get the clinical information they need to provide the best care for their patients, many of whom have multiple chronic conditions and are seen by multiple providers who may be hundreds of miles apart. The Electronic Health Record will bring all the information together in one place that’s easily accessible by all our providers, no matter where they are.”
Delta Health reviewed all the leading Electronic Health Records and found TouchWorks to be far superior. TouchWorks (www.allscripts.com/touchworks) provides instant access to patient information and automates everyday clinical tasks. To further enable global access to patient information during emergencies, TouchWorks iHealth provides Delta Health patients with a secure online Personal Health Record and physician-patient communications from Medem. The system’s user-friendly interface and electronic prescribing capability also appealed to Delta Health.
“We were especially impressed that Allscripts facilitates documentation for a retina specialist as well as it does for a primary care physician,” said Karen Fox, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer of Delta Health Alliance and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Mississippi in Jackson. “That level of cross-specialty functionality is hard to find. And we were very impressed that the company’s CEO took a personal interest in Delta Health and understood the issues that are most important to us.”
Allscripts Chief Executive Officer Glen Tullman commented, “This is an important initiative for the region and we are fortunate to have the technology as well as the opportunity to help. Our Electronic Health Record is a critical part of enabling Delta Health to deliver the highest quality care to the patients of the Mississippi Delta region.”
In addition to the Electronic Health Record initiative, Delta Health will make electronic prescribing available to every physician in Mississippi as the regional supporter of the National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative(SM) (NEPSI(SM)), a coalition of healthcare and technology companies led by Allscripts that is offering free electronic prescribing software to every physician in America. NEPSI (www.nationalerx.com) is sponsored by Dell, Aetna, Cisco Systems, Fujitsu, Microsoft, Sprint Nextel, SureScripts, Wellpoint and Wolters Kluwer Health, as well as Horizon BCBS of New Jersey and 12 regional medical organizations across the U.S. Google provides the specialized search capabilities of the product.
“The NEPSI program delivers instant access to medication information as well as allergies and prior adverse reactions in the event of another disaster,” said Fox. “The e-prescribing solution stores information safely online, and dramatically improves patient safety. Delta Health is proud to support NEPSI by offering training, education and support for the thousands of Mississippi physicians in small practices who don’t already have an e- prescribing solution. In combination with the Electronic Health Record initiative, this program cements Delta Health’s leadership role in addressing the health problems of the poor and medically underserved people of the Delta region.”
About Delta Health Alliance
The Delta Health Alliance was founded in 2001 to address health issues in the Mississippi Delta, and is a partnership between Delta State University, Mississippi State University, Mississippi Valley State University, University of Mississippi Medical Center, and Delta Council. Delta Health Alliance also has four associate partners: The Mississippi Association of Community Health Centers, Mississippi Medical Association, Mississippi Hospital Association, and Area Health and Education Centers. These organizations collaborate to create a comprehensive program that addresses the longstanding, unmet rural health needs of the Mississippi Delta, and focus on increasing access and availability of care, conducting and applying health research, and offering health education programs. To learn more, visit Delta Health Alliance at http://www.deltahealthalliance.com.
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 software applications include electronic health record, practice management, electronic prescribing, document imaging, emergency department and care management 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. 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 2005 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- 02/27/2007
/CONTACT: Dan Michelson, Chief Marketing Officer, +1-312-506-1217, or
dan.michelson@allscripts.com, or Todd Stein, Senior Manager, Public Relations,
+1-312-506-1216, or todd.stein@allscripts.com, both of Allscripts; or Karen C.
Fox, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer of Delta Health Alliance, +1-662-686-3520,
or kfox@deltahealthalliance.org/
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/Web site: http://www.allscripts.com
http://www.deltahealthalliance.com
http://www.allscripts.com/touchworks
http://www.nationalerx.com/
(MDRX)
CO: Allscripts; Delta Health Alliance
ST: Louisiana, Illinois
IN: MTC CPR STW HEA
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8891 02/27/2007 09:30 EST http://www.prnewswire.com
Source: Allscripts
