Ingenix CareTracker EHR Delivers Capabilities Essential to Demonstrating “Meaningful Use” of Health Information Technology

New and enhanced features now available to all CareTracker subscribers â?¢ Systemwide deployment frees physicians from expense, effort of upgrading client-server-based EHR systems

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., (June 14, 2010) –

Ingenix has completed a systemwide deployment of new and enhanced features for its CareTracker(TM) electronic health record (EHR) solution, giving physicians immediate access to capabilities that are essential to demonstrate the “meaningful use” of health information technology needed to qualify for federal government incentives.

Because CareTracker is Web-based, Ingenix can implement new features quickly and simultaneously for all CareTracker users. Upgrades and system maintenance are included in the low, monthly CareTracker subscription rate. This eliminates additional costs for upgrading and maintaining an EHR for the more than 10,000 doctors and support staff who depend on CareTracker every day. In the past, physicians who used client-server-based EHR systems could spend tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of staff time on updates.

In January, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an Interim Final Rule detailing the functions that EHR systems must support for physicians to demonstrate meaningful use and qualify for up to $44,000 in Medicare, or up to $63,000 in Medicaid reimbursements provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). When HHS finalizes the meaningful use rules this summer, Ingenix will deploy any necessary additional functionality to the entire CareTracker network, at no additional cost to physicians.

“Ingenix is delivering on our guarantee to help physicians demonstrate meaningful use of an EHR, while enhancing patient care and managing their practices more efficiently,” said Ingenix Executive Vice President Bill Miller. “Importantly, because CareTracker is delivered via the Internet, there are no upgrade costs or interruptions to physician work flows associated with system upgrades. CareTracker users can start using the new capabilities immediately.”

Ingenix CareTracker saves physicians time and money by helping them access important clinical knowledge and patient medical information at the point of care. It enables clinicians to enter, retrieve and correlate patient information at the point of care. The system features connections to thousands of labs, hospitals, pharmacies and commercial and government payers, and fully integrates with all of the operational functions of a physician practice, simplifying administrative tasks such as billing, scheduling and documentation.

New CareTracker features and enhancements that help demonstrate meaningful use include:

Clinical decision support tools based on national guidelines (e.g., NCQA’s HEDIS measurements) that analyze clinical data and alert physicians to perform recommended tests or exams
Medication safety and electronic prescribing resources, including enhanced medication interaction screening and weight-based dosing tools that enable physicians to compare current orders with prescription history to avoid potential adverse effects or medication errors. Further, CareTracker is SureScripts® certified, giving physicians access to the SureScripts network that allows them to transmit prescriptions directly to their patients’ preferred pharmacy, including mail-order pharmacies, accurately and quickly
Patient education resources – including a comprehensive library of patient-friendly education resources from Krames, a provider of patient education and consumer health information – that help doctors inform their patients about medical conditions, treatment options and after-care instructions. The Krames database includes more than 3,100 illustrated guides and 1,600 sets of care notes
Patient engagement tools that enable patients to access their medical records and request an appointment or prescription renewal online
Evaluation and management (E&M) coding solutions that help physicians and their staff, when charging for office visits and consultations, identify the most appropriate E&M procedure (e.g., Current Procedural Terminology [CPT] code) to ensure compliance with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services guidelines

Ingenix provides a package of interest-free financing and meaningful use guarantees that eliminate the up-front costs of implementing an EHR system. Because CareTracker costs less than $5,000 per year per physician, federal stimulus funding may cover most or all CareTracker subscription costs through the end of the ARRA reimbursement period, depending on the composition of a physician’s patient mix. The company is currently scheduling ARRA certification testing for CareTracker.

For more information about Ingenix CareTracker, visit www.ingenix.com/ehr.
CareTracker EHR provides “meaningful use” criteria as outlined in the Interim Final Rule (IFR)

About Ingenix
Ingenix, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, is a leading provider of health information, technology and consulting services. Organizations, institutions, businesses and government agencies that comprise the health care system depend on Ingenix solutions and insights to improve their performance. Visit www.ingenix.com for more information.

Source: Ingenix