USF Health Selects Allscripts for 400 Physician EHR Initiative; University of South Florida Physicians Group at USF Health To Lead Ambulatory Healthcare Delivery Revolution in Florida

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

CHICAGO & TAMPA, Fla (January 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

Source: Allscripts