Northwest Hospital & Medical Center Selects Allscripts Electronic Health Record and Practice Management System for Staff and Community Physicians
First Seattle-Area Hospital to Take Advantage of Stark Changes Allowing Hospitals to Donate EHR Technology
CHICAGO and SEATTLE (February 12, 2007) –
Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX), the leading provider of clinical software and information solutions that physicians use to improve healthcare, announced today that Northwest Hospital & Medical Center has selected the TouchWorks(TM) Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Practice Management (PM) solution for 50 affiliated physicians, including some independent members of the medical staff. The hospital plans to offer the Allscripts solution to another 250 affiliated and non-affiliated physicians over the next few years.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061005/ALLSCRIPTSLOGO-b )
Northwest Hospital is one of Seattle’s most prestigious healthcare institutions, with 281 licensed beds and nearly 500,000 patient visits per year. The agreement between Northwest Hospital and Allscripts is the first instance of a Seattle-area hospital taking advantage of recent changes to federal regulations that now allow hospitals to fund healthcare information technology for physicians in their communities. Last October, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of Inspector General created so-called “safe harbors” to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and exceptions to the federal Stark Act, which strictly limits the scope of hospital-physician relationships. Under the changes, hospitals can provide their affiliated physicians up to 85 percent of the cost of an Electronic Health Record and up to 100 percent of the cost of electronic prescribing technology. As a result, hospitals are actively seeking EHR and ePrescribing solutions that meet the unique needs of physicians outside the hospital, also enabling them to build stronger ties to these physicians.
“By offering both affiliated and non-affiliated physicians an integrated EHR and practice management solution, we will be able to provide them a seamless connection to our network and patient information along the entire continuum of care. We can facilitate an electronic dialogue among all the members of a patient’s care team no matter their location, and increase our ability to offer truly integrated patient care,” said C. William Schneider, Chief Executive Officer and president of Northwest Hospital. “We anticipate that this system will help us build stronger connections between Northwest Hospital and physicians throughout our community, as well as contribute to our ongoing quality of care and patient safety initiatives.”
The TouchWorks Electronic Health Record ( http://www.allscripts.com/touchworks ) brings Northwest Hospital’s physicians instant access to patient information when and where they need it — at the hospital, in their offices, or while on-call at home. TouchWorks automates and makes safer everyday clinical tasks such as prescribing and refilling medications, ordering and reviewing tests, and documenting patient care. An easy-to-use and customizable solution, TouchWorks features robust clinical tools that support safe medical practices, including health maintenance alerts, clinical decision support, and automated drug safety checking.
The Practice Management functionality of TouchWorks combines sophisticated scheduling and financial management tools in a single package. Important features of the solution include rules-based appointment scheduling, multi- resource and recurring appointment features, referral and eligibility indicators, and appointment and claims management.
Schneider said the hospital selected Allscripts after a nearly two-year search because the company’s web-based architecture and its on-demand Applications Service Provider (ASP) model suited their needs, both in technology and the ability to deploy the EHR and practice management solution cost effectively via the web to affiliated and non-affiliated physicians. The ASP model lets physician practices adopt one or both of the Allscripts solutions without purchasing the expensive hardware required to host such a system on-site.
“The Stark rule change has accelerated the interest among hospitals in promoting the adoption and utilization of healthcare information technology that can be deployed in a cost effective ASP model, and today we’re seeing the results of that interest with the partnership between Allscripts and Northwest Hospital,” said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts. “Northwest Hospital is taking a true leadership position in the Seattle area by pushing this life-saving technology out to physicians in their community to increase connectivity, add referrals, improve quality, reduce errors and better manage costs.”
About Northwest Hospital and Medical Center
Opened in 1960, Northwest Hospital and Medical Center is a full-service, non-profit community hospital located minutes north of downtown Seattle. With 281 licensed beds, more than 1,600 employees and all private rooms, it offers some of the most innovative, technologically advanced medical care available. Major clinical programs and services include: emergency services; critical care; cardiac care; stroke center; cancer care; childbirth services; bariatric surgery; medical rehabilitation; neurosciences; diagnostic imaging; geropsychiatric center; Gamma Knife(R) Center; laboratory services; and education and wellness programs, among others. For more information about Northwest Hospital, visit http://www.nwhospital.org or call 206-364-0500 or 206-633-4636 for the Physician Referral Line.
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- 02/12/2007
/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
Northwest Hospital & Medical Center Contact, Karen Peck, Director, Marketing
and Public Relations, +1-206-368-1609, or karen.peck@nwhsea.org /
/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: http://www.allscripts.com
http://www.allscripts.com/touchworks
http://www.nwhospital.org /
(MDRX)
CO: Allscripts; Northwest Hospital & Medical Center
ST: Illinois, Washington
IN: HEA MTC CPR STW
SU: FNC PDT
CT-SH
— CGM016 —
4315 02/12/2007 09:00 EST http://www.prnewswire.com
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