The 25-bed critical access non-profit hospital owns and operates eight physician practices. Mayo Regional Hospital selected Sage Intergy EHR following a two-year evaluation process of EHR systems in the marketplace. Sage Intergy could easily handle the hospital’s billing requirements, along with the system’s robust practice management needs, said Ben Dever, Director of Mayo Practices Associates for the Mayo Regional Hospital.

“The uniqueness of our billing system and its complexities placed Sage Intergy at the top of our vendor list,” said Dever. “In our search for an EHR, we needed a system that could handle a robust, multi-practice billing system while providing clear reporting metrics and outcomes. Intergy proved the most capable system to meet our needs.”

Sage Intergy EHR is a comprehensive clinical, financial and administrative solution that empowers physicians to advance the quality and efficiency of care they deliver. The Sage Intergy family of products includes integrated practice management, electronic health records, clinical and business intelligence and tools for online patient engagement. Providers can access Sage Intergy from multiple practice locations, from home, or other remote locations either through a central patient database server, or as a Sage-hosted solution on a monthly subscription basis.

Sage Intergy EHR easily tracks the details of a patient’s clinical history, shares and manages clinical information and combines complex medical practice functions into easy-to-navigate menus. Sage Intergy EHR features centralized financial operations including billing, reporting, task management, and fully integrates with EDI services, Sage Intergy Practice Portal, Sage Intergy RIS and Sage Practice Analytics.

Dever said Mayo Regional Hospital is working to attain meaningful use, as driven by the federal government’s recent passing of a healthcare stimulus package. Sage Intergy EHR will provide the hospital’s practices with reporting and data collection capabilities as required by the meaningful use rules.

The clinics of Mayo Regional Hospital see more than 50,000 patients a year, and, while cost containment of moving from a paper to electronic system appealed to the hospital’s selection committee, adding Sage Intergy EHR to its healthcare system is driven by providing better quality of care, and tracking outcomes to improve treatment and care options for patients, Dever said.

“We’ll now be more easily able to track patients’ progress through their electronic records, and share patient data between the hospital and its clinics,” said Dever. “This will lead to quicker delivery of care and better, higher quality, encounters with our patients.”

Sage has been providing ambulatory healthcare systems for nearly 30 years, providing practice management solutions, electronic health records and other services to streamline patient care, as well as is a leading supplier of business management software and services, serving more than 6.2 million small and midsized business customers worldwide.

ASGE members will be introduced to the new EHR Prep-Select™ service, a professional consulting program offered by Welch Allyn. The service systematically guides physician practices through the complex EHR preparation and selection process by offering an optimal mix of expert consulting, an easy-to-follow 10-step project plan, and an intuitive online tool that addresses the challenges associated with selecting an EHR vendor.

“Selecting and preparing for an EHR is a complex process full of unknown twists and turns,” said Jay Mangicaro, senior category manager, EHR Services, at Welch Allyn. “The Welch Allyn EHR Preparation and Selection program offers a comprehensive, yet simplified solution to the difficult selection process. We know that careful preparation and planning along with personal consultation is the key to success for an EHR transition. By partnering with the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Welch Allyn is able to not only provide members with this valuable selection service, but ultimately it will help ASGE members achieve ‘meaningful use’ requirements and secure HITECH stimulus incentives.”

Welch Allyn will be collaborating with ASGE on several marketing initiatives to introduce and educate members on the value of the EHR Prep-Select service. ASGE members will be able to quickly find the program through their own website, which brings members to a partnered landing page provided by Welch Allyn. In addition, members referred to Welch Allyn by ASGE will be eligible for special pricing on all of the Welch Allyn EHR Prep-Select program services.

“The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy promotes excellence in physician practice management and operations,” said Glenn D. Littenberg, MD, chair of ASGE’s Practice Management Committee. “Through our partnership with Welch Allyn and its’ EHR Prep-Select program, member practices have access to a comprehensive tool that will help them successfully navigate EHR preparation, selection and business process transformation. This program is designed to take some of the fear out of the process for ASGE members and allow for a more streamlined transition from paper to electronic medical records.”

About the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Since its founding in 1941, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) has been dedicated to advancing patient care and digestive health by promoting excellence in gastrointestinal endoscopy. ASGE, with more than 11,000 members worldwide, promotes the highest standards for endoscopic training and practice, fosters endoscopic research, recognizes distinguished contributions to endoscopy, and is the foremost resource for endoscopic education. Visit www.asge.org and www.screen4coloncancer.org for more information and to find a qualified doctor in your area.

About Welch Allyn

Founded in 1915 and headquartered in Skaneateles Falls, NY (USA), Welch Allyn is a leading global manufacturer of medical diagnostic equipment and a complete range of digital and connected solutions. With 2,600 employees working in 26 different countries, Welch Allyn specializes in helping doctors, nurses, and other frontline practitioners across the globe provide the best patient care by developing innovative products, breakthrough technologies, and cutting- edge solutions that help them see more patients, detect more conditions, and improve more lives. More information about Welch Allyn and its complete line of connected products and solutions may be found at www.welchallyn.com.

“Our EHR system utilizes touch screen technology for accurate note taking capabilities,” said Dr. Steinle. “This puts our chiropractic office at the forefront of technology in the chiropractic profession.” It is estimated that 25% of offices nationwide currently use electronic systems. “We have found that we are better able to serve practice members in Evergreen, Colorado and the surrounding communities with our new program.”

Electronic health records and the United States of America

Electronic health records implementation is being endorsed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the United States. The CMS lists several reasons for the push to EHRs including:

• Reducing the incidence of medical error by improving the accuracy and clarity of medical records.
• Making the health information available, reducing duplication of tests, reducing delays in treatment, and patients well informed to take better decisions.
• Reducing medical error by improving the accuracy and clarity of medical records.

About Health and Harmony Chiropractic and Wellness Center

Health and Harmony, PC was established in Evergreen, Colorado in 2001. The chiropractic clinic offers acute care, posture corrective care and wellness care. The treatment is focused on the neuromusculoskeletal system including the spine and extremities. In addition Dr. Jason C. Steinle consults with practice members on nutrition and health goals. Dr. Steinle was awarded the best chiropractor award by readers of the Mountain Connection and Canyon Courier newspapers.

With more than 230 physicians representing nearly 40 different medical specialties, MKMG serves 250,000 patients annually through its 22 New York state locations. The organization was an early adopter of technology and has garnered a long-standing reputation for providing high quality care. Its providers generate 420,000 electronic prescriptions annually and began using electronic charts in February 1998. Through its agreement with NextGen Healthcare, MKMG will implement an integrated platform built on a single database to help better meet its financial and clinical needs, specifically as the organization works to demonstrate Meaningful Use.

“We determined that our previous EHR solution would not enable us to meet Meaningful Use criteria, so that factored heavily into our decision when selecting this new technology,” said Joe Abate, director of information technology at MKMG. “Not only does NextGen Healthcare offer a proven EHR product that it intends to certify to help organizations like ours meet these criteria, but its practice management and portal technologies also provide the enhanced functionality needed to significantly impact financial efficiency — all through a single database.”

“NextGen Healthcare’s commitment to innovation, success in supporting clients’ pay-for-performance initiatives, and its willingness to let our voice be heard during the selection process made them the right partner for us. We were also impressed by the camaraderie among large NextGen Healthcare clients and the opportunities to share best practices with other users,” added Abate.

NextGen Ambulatory EHR version 5.6 is a CCHIT Certified(R) 2011 Ambulatory EHR, additionally certified for Child Health and Cardiovascular Medicine with Advanced Reporting. The product features pre-built clinical templates and workflow for more than 26 specialties to help ensure complete, accurate documentation stored in a standard format. Point and click technology enables physicians to mimic existing workflow to help eliminate the need for dictation. Disease management templates in NextGen Ambulatory EHR also allow organizations to capture discrete data at the point of care, which is crucial for meeting clinical reporting guidelines for pay-for-performance programs.

NextGen Practice Management offers reporting capabilities that can be leveraged to accurately track quality improvement measures — another key requirement for achieving Meaningful Use. The solution also enables large multi-specialty practices like MKMG to centralize appointment scheduling, billing, collections, and other business processes, while preference settings allow different locations to operate according to their own workflow.

NextGen Patient Portal promotes an interactive continuum of care between the patient and practice, facilitating effective electronic communication and clinical data exchange. The portal can be used to respond to patient requests for an electronic copy of health information, including diagnostic test results, problem lists, and medication lists and allergies. This level of patient interaction also helps organizations meet the Meaningful Use criteria for engaging patients and families in their healthcare.

“We are pleased to add a forward-thinking organization like Mount Kisco Medical Group to our client base and look forward to working closely together on the road to demonstrating Meaningful Use,” said Scott Decker, President of NextGen Healthcare. “For years, NextGen Healthcare has been working diligently to build products that meet the emerging needs of our clients. We are confident that MKMG — as well as other NextGen users — will realize the benefits of this strategic product development approach as we enter this exciting time in healthcare IT.”

For organizations seeking to take advantage of ARRA stimulus payments other opportunities made possible by healthcare reform, NextGen Healthcare has produced educational resources for providers and continues to host regular public webinars and demonstrations.

CCHIT Certified(R) is a registered mark of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology.

For more information on NextGen Healthcare EHR Products please visit here.

“The Agreement with Thrasys strengthens MedLink’s ongoing RHIO community strategy and represents a key milestone in MedLink’s delivery of high-value healthcare solutions on an enterprise level,” said Ray Vuono, President of MedLink. “SyntraNet is a cloud based Health Information Exchange that can be deployed quickly across the service area of RHIOs, providing incredible value as the community scrambles to provide a financially sensible and scalable interoperable solution to meet the ‘meaningful use’ stipulations necessary to receive federal financial incentives to its member physician and healthcare organizations.”

MedLink and Thrasys will market the cloud based HIE platform to Regional Health Information Organizations and Large Hospital groups as a solution for interoperability, and to provide cloud based applications that leverage both MedLink and Thrasys technologies to streamline wide spread EHR adoption.

About Thrasys, Inc.

Thrasys, Inc. based in San Francisco, California brings innovative solutions to the healthcare market based on breakthrough technologies to rapidly build and deploy highly scalable applications targeted at communities and enterprises. Thrasys solutions for healthcare are based on XNet, an open and standards based application platform to rapidly build and deploy enterprise solutions based on XML services, rich internet application user interfaces, configurable workflows and rules, and interoperability. SyntraNet, based on XNet, is a health information exchange and collaboration network that provides a comprehensive set of applications for care providers, patients, service centers and payers. Please visit www.thrasys.com to learn more.

About MedLink

MedLink is a healthcare IT company that provides the medical community with products and services designed to help create, manage, and share medical information. The company’s flagship product, MedLink TotalOffice EHR 3.1, a CCHIT Certified(R) 08 Ambulatory EHR, provides physicians with full EHR and practice management functionality. For more information regarding MedLink’s products and services, please visit www.medlinkus.com.

“With only being months away from the first eligibility milestone, we felt it was critical to create a resource center where doctors can get the facts and latest updates on the stimulus package,” said Robert Moberg, President of ChiroTouch. “As is usually the case in a program of this size, rumors and speculation must be discarded and the facts presented in a clear manner.  This is what we’ve provided the doctor of chiropractic.”

The ChiroTouch AARA Stimulus Discovery Center provides a detailed review of the stimulus package, and helps doctors determine their eligibility, what steps need to be taken to qualify for the funds, and how much money they are likely to receive.  Additionally, key deadlines are illustrated along with details about what is required of the EHR system in order to qualify under the program.

Chiropractic software designed from the ground up to maximize efficiencies for virtually every process, including patient self check-in, scheduling, SOAP notes, billing, interoffice communication and more; ChiroTouch has developed its HIPAA-compliant system to drastically reduce the time it takes to perform tasks that chiropractors are already doing.  That gives chiropractors more time to see more patients—resulting in increased referrals, improved efficiencies, and a direct, measurable impact on practice profitability.

“We also conduct a regularly-scheduled webinar to ensure the latest breaking news is disseminated to the community,” added Robert.  ”And this webinar is available to any practice, regardless of the software they’re currently using.  It’s another way ChiroTouch gives back to the community, and we’re pleased with the overwhelming response we’ve received from the doctors and staff of practices across the country.”

About ChiroTouch

ChiroTouch, by Integrated Practice Solutions Inc., is the premier provider of innovative chiropractic software technology solutions for the chiropractic industry. Fusing advanced software systems with superior support services, we partner with chiropractors across the country to help them automate operations, improve patient care, and increase profitability.  Visit http://www.chirotouch.com

“Bringing Availity and RealMed together creates a powerful value proposition for our combined customer base and the markets we serve,” said Julie Klapstein, chief executive officer of Availity. “Availity and RealMed have long shared a commitment to improving clinician and office staff access to meaningful information in real-time, to help improve efficiencies and remove cost from the health care system. Combining Availity’s network and reach with RealMed’s revenue cycle management capabilities empowers physician practices to meet today’s challenges in running their businesses. At the same time, our health plan partners benefit from the advanced provider self-service and automation offered by these tools – increasing provider access to information about their payments helps alleviate expensive calls and manual inquiries to the health plans.”

Availity is regarded as one of the leading health information networks in the country, offering business and clinical information exchange among physicians, health plans, hospitals, and the health care technology partners that serve them. The RealMed solutions focus specifically on improving provider revenue cycles through features including advanced claims editing, real-time tracking, online claim correction, and remittance posting. These capabilities dovetail seamlessly with Availity’s suite of tools that reduce costs and simplify administrative workflows.

“Advanced revenue cycle capabilities benefit everyone involved in the claim payment process, from patient to physician to health plan,” said Klapstein. “When physician practices are empowered with real-time information about the claim payment process, staff can spend less time on paperwork and phone calls and more time serving patients. Efficiency goes up, costs go down, and satisfaction levels increase for everyone – practices, health plans, and most importantly, patients. We are thrilled to have the RealMed team join us in advancing the mission of optimized information access and sharing to enhance the health care system.”

“We couldn’t agree more that the union of Availity and RealMed means enhanced value to our collective customers,” said T.E. Rajagopal (Raj), executive vice president of operations and technology for RealMed. “Our mutual commitment to service excellence and passion for product innovation creates exciting synergistic opportunities to deliver solutions that address and simplify the evolving and increasingly complex needs of our health care customers. While we continue to deliver value through our current products, we will also begin to focus our collective expertise on advancing solutions for tomorrow.”

This combination becomes even more crucial in the market as growth in high deductible health plans is projected to continue. Increased patient payment responsibility means that physicians must have better financial management tools, as studies show more than 60 percent of receivables go uncollected if payment isn’t received at the time of service. The combination of Availity and RealMed’s revenue cycle management tools improves physician collections from both health plans and patients.

In addition to online access via the Web, Availity and RealMed deliver revenue cycle management capabilities through a broad list of industry leading practice management and electronic medical records business partners.

“Today’s physician practices demand access to services through channels that best fit their workflows, and we’re committed to expanding the breadth of options we deliver to satisfy that requirement,” said Russ Thomas, president and chief operating officer of Availity. “When a physician practice wants to exchange information by using their practice management or electronic medical records system, we enable that solution because it goes to the heart of efficient workflow for the physician’s business.”

Availity will maintain RealMed’s business operations in Indianapolis, Indiana. Terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed.

About Availity LLC – Patients. Not Paperwork.^®

Availity optimizes information exchange between multiple health care stakeholders through a single, secure network. The Availity^® Health Information Network encompasses administrative, financial, and clinical services, supporting both real-time and batch electronic data interchange (EDI) via the web and through business to business (B2B) integration. For more information, including an online demonstration, please visit www.availity.com or call 1.800.AVAILITY (282.4548).

About RealMed

RealMed automates healthcare transactions and information exchange between providers and payers using powerful reporting and workflow enhancing features. These capabilities can significantly enhance administrative efficiency and dramatically improve cash flow for providers. RealMed serves professional providers ranging from one-doctor practices to the nation’s largest academic medical centers and specialty providers for all aspects of their revenue cycle management needs. RealMed’s service and solutions led to its ranking as 2009 ‘Best in KLAS’ for Claims and Clearinghouse Services.* Please visit www.realmed.com or call 1.877.REALMED (732.5633) for more information.

* 2009 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Professional Services report, ©2009 KLAS Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved.

The lnc.500 list represents the definitive view of the most important segment of the economy—America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs. As an Inc. 500 honoree, Kinnser Software shares a prestigious pedigree with such notable high-tech alumni as Microsoft, Intuit, Oracle and scores of other influential technology companies.

Kinnser Software’s Web-based electronic medical record (EMR) service for the home health industry established the company at No. 14 among the 37 Health companies on the Inc. 500 list. Recent service innovations contributing to this growth include full Apple iPad functionality to enable true point of care service, automatic weekly Medicare eligibility checks and the industry’s easiest to use billing dashboard. This award recognizes the customer focus and creativity of the Kinnser team during very difficult economic times.

“Fast growth at any time is a big achievement; fast growth during the past few years is just short of miraculous,” said Inc. editor Jane Berentson. “The Inc. 500 consists of these just-short-of miraculous companies, the ones that through ingenuity and ambition have increased revenue, hired employees and grown fast in difficult economic times.”

Pabs Caluscos, a client for over six years said, “Agency Manager™ has been a great addition to my agency—allowing us to manage point of care, billing, and administrative needs all in one place. Clinicians, office staff and administrators have all loved the services that Kinnser has provided, including their excellent customer support. As an owner of a home health agency, Kinnser helps me deliver quality care for my patients while growing my business. I congratulate them on their achievement.”

“We are very grateful to our customers for making our Web-based service a part of their home health care team. As a company that has grown without venture capital, Kinnser is free to make decisions with only one group in mind: our customers. I believe that our level of customer focus is unique in the industry and a key strength for our company,” said Kinnser Software’s President Christopher Hester. “With agencies and their patients, not investors, as our primary responsibility, we are driven to deliver new services that make our clients’ lives easier and their businesses stronger.”

About Kinnser Software
Kinnser Software’s unique online solution Agency Manager™ is the complete point of care, administration and billing solution for home health agencies nationwide. This Software as a Service (SaaS)-model EMR for the home health industry delivers increased net revenue, decreased costs and improved collaboration to home health agencies. These innovative services engage clinicians and staff throughout the care continuum, providing revolutionary connectivity within the agency and with fiscal intermediaries/insurance, physicians and therapy companies. Learn more at Kinnser.com

About Inc. Magazine
Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures LLC, Inc. is the only major business magazine dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies that delivers real solutions for today’s innovative company builders. With a total paid circulation of 712,647, Inc. provides hands-on tools and market-tested strategies for managing people, finances, sales, marketing, and technology. Visit us online at Inc.com.

In September 2009, Max Healthcare and Dell Services, formerly Perot Systems, entered into a 10-year agreement valued at USD 20 Million (Over INR 90 Crore) under which Dell Services provides infrastructure management and EHR implementation to Max Healthcare. Dell Services manages all IT operations for Max Healthcare, including infrastructure management, data hosting, applications portfolio management, project management office, service desk and clinical adoption of VistA EHR system (an EHR platform developed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs). Dell Services has completed the migration of the information technology infrastructure for the eight Max Healthcare hospitals to the Dell Services Data Centre in Noida. Max Healthcare’s Health Information System (HIS), which forms its business backbone as well as all other software applications are now operating on a private cloud.

Benefits to Max Healthcare
Dell Services has provided a robust cloud infrastructure to enable Max Healthcare to take on the load of EHR and Computerized Physician Order Entry. Max Healthcare hospitals are already experiencing an enhanced stability of the IT environment, better availability of HIS and data analytics tools. The private MPLS cloud allows Max Healthcare to set up its process and tools at new facilities easily, as these facilities would get access to Max’s HIS by just hooking up to the cloud. The private MPLS cloud will help Max Healthcare as it expands its capacities and footprint across India.

Source: Cloud News Daily.

Allscripts is one of the largest companies focused exclusively on healthcare information technology, with over 5,500 employees and combined 2009 pro forma revenues of approximately $1.2 billion. It brings to market a complete portfolio of clinical, financial, analytics and connectivity solutions, and a client base of 180,000 physicians, 1,500 hospitals and 10,000 nursing homes, homecare agencies and other post-acute organizations – the largest network in healthcare.

The company addresses a significant problem in the U.S. healthcare system – the widespread lack of information connectivity – which makes it difficult for providers in hospitals, physician offices, nursing homes and other care settings to access and share information that is vital to delivering patient care.  For instance, only about 12 percent of US hospitals had a basic Electronic Health Record (EHR) in place in 2009, according to a study published this August by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health. The situation is similar in physician practices and post-acute settings nationwide.

“Every healthcare CIO faces the challenge of integrating ambulatory, acute care and often post-acute systems to ensure that critical clinical information is available in every care setting,” said Stephan D. O’Neill, Vice President of Information Systems for Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn., which uses the Sunrise Enterprise™ solution in its hospitals, and the Allscripts ambulatory solutions in its physician practices and home care agencies.

Mr. O’Neill continued, “By bringing together the best products in all three care settings, Allscripts has allowed us to introduce a new model of coordinated care with all of the information systems working together on one platform.  Whatever setting providers are working in—whether it’s the physician’s office, the Emergency Room, the hospital or a home care agency—they have the information they need to deliver the best care.”

By connecting physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals to vital, real-time information provided by its own and third-party systems, Allscripts also will have the unique ability to deliver a single patient record available at any time to providers across care settings.  As a result, healthcare providers are empowered to make more informed care decisions, work as a more efficient care team, and deliver world-class outcomes.

“Our vision is to create a connected community of health to put the right information in the hands of all stakeholders at the right time, empowering them to deliver world-class outcomes, for both their patients and their organizations,” said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts.

“No company has a larger footprint in healthcare, crossing the entire spectrum of provider organizations from hospitals to physicians to nursing homes, home care agencies and other post-acute providers,” Mr. Tullman continued. “When you combine the size of our network with our ability to deliver an integrated solution set for all settings and to connect to any third-party system through our Helios connectivity platform, Allscripts is making it easy for providers to collaborate.  We think the result will be what we all want – better care delivered more cost effectively.”

The new Allscripts enjoys a number of important distinctions in the market, including:

• A complete portfolio of market-leading solutions for hospitals including the Sunrise Acute Care suite of solutions, used by more hospitals with over 200 beds than those of any other company; the Helios line of connectivity solutions; the portfolio of Enterprise Performance Management™ solutions; and the Allscripts Care Management and discharge management solutions.
• Clear leadership in the hospital market, with 100 percent of the hospitals on US News & World Report‘s 2010 America’s Best Hospitals Honor Roll using one or more Allscripts solutions.
• The most widely used set of solutions for physician practices of all sizes, including Electronic Health Record (EHR), ePrescribing, Practice Management and Revenue Cycle solutions.
• The most complete set of post-acute care solutions helping skilled nursing facilities, homecare agencies and other extended care organizations to easily capture electronic patient referrals from hospitals and to automate many of their clinical and administrative functions.
• A modern technology platform, leveraging Microsoft.NET and other advanced technologies, that enables the delivery of an integrated hospital and physician practice offering.
• An ‘open architecture’ approach, simplifying the connection to third-party applications across every care setting, resulting in a single patient record.
• An ‘industrial strength’ management team that led Allscripts to be named the 22nd fastest-growing company in the world in 2010 by Fortune magazine; the 14th fastest-growing company in terms of profit growth since 2007. (source: Fortune‘s “Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies of 2010″).
• The scale, solutions and proven ability to drive provider utilization – all critical elements that are requirements to help American physicians and hospitals access the approximately $30 billion in federal funding for hospital and physician adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR) provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

“With the opportunity to qualify for ARRA funding just months away, we expect that more hospitals and physicians will look to Allscripts as the Electronic Health Record company best able to connect them to the entire community of care,” said Phil Pead, Chairman of the Board of Allscripts and the former Chief Executive Officer of Eclipsys. “There is a level of excitement from both the market and from our clients that we are now positioned to make the connected community of health a reality for providers and patients.”

As the leader in driving full utilization of Electronic Health Records by both hospital and physicians, Allscripts has the experience and resources to quickly help its clients achieve “meaningful use” – the criteria that physicians and hospitals must satisfy in order to qualify for federal funding under ARRA.

“The digital universe continues to become more of our everyday culture within the healthcare industry,” said Kamal Thapar, MD, PhD, FRCS(C), Marshfield Clinic neurosurgeon and director of the Brain & Spine Institute at Sacred Heart Hospital. “I recently diagnosed a patient’s condition through comments she posted on her Facebook page. At the time, she was unable to tell me her previous hospital treatments, but after reading her entries on Facebook, I was able to treat her properly.”

Throughout the day, leading healthcare organizations addressed the role of technology within healthcare, including electronic medical records (EMRs). Hoda Sayed-Friel, VP marketing, MEDITECH, discussed how physicians and medical staff should not worry so much about where medical data is stored. All medical files need to be digitized and centralized.

“Patients already believe doctors share medical information,” said Sayed-Friel. “Physicians and hospital organizations need to be able to provide care without walls blocking them. Engage their patients and provide them with the best care possible.  It’s all about reinventing the patient experience.”

Sacred Heart Hospital will launch their EMR system in early September and continue to reinvent the patient experience within their organization. “Sacred Heart Hospital continues to invest in the latest technology for our patients and community,” said Steve Ronstrom, CEO of Sacred Heart Hospital and President, Western Wisconsin Division, Hospital Sisters Health System. “The summit was an opportunity for community members and healthcare leaders to immerse themselves into the future of healthcare technology.”

“Sacred Heart Hospital also is looking into the future to create the ultimate in healthcare for our patients,” said Ronstrom. “We’re implementing an Imagining the Future 2016 program to solicit community input to look beyond the norms of healthcare and discuss the role it will play in our community and everyday lives.”

Other summit participants include the Center for Health Transformation, Siemens Medical Solutions USA, BrainLAB, Cray Inc., and Hospital Sisters Health System.

To learn more about what was discussed during the “Inventing the Future” summit, watch the webcast videos posted online.

About Sacred Heart Hospital

Sacred Heart Hospital strives to provide patients the best, most specialized treatment available by blending advanced technology with the Franciscan tradition to improve health by treating the whole person – body, mind and spirit. As an affiliate of the Hospital Sisters Health System, the hospital has been meeting patient needs in western Wisconsin, since 1889, with the latest medical innovations and technology. For additional information about Sacred Heart Hospital, visit www.sacredhearteauclaire.org.

Southwest Kidney Institute’s dialysis centers and programs are designed to deliver dialysis services and education to patients with chronic kidney failure and end-stage renal disease. In January of 2008, Southwest Kidney Institute partnered with DaVita, an expert in dialysis management in the United States, with the intention of allowing the company to focus more on patient care. Southwest Kidney Institute selected athenahealth’s services in an effort to drive better operational and clinical outcomes for their nephrology physician practices. athenahealth announced a partnership with DaVita in March 2010 to market its services to nephrologists across the country.

Southwest Kidney Institute will adopt athenaCommunicator(SM), a patient cycle management tool designed to manage patient interactions triggered by practice staff or by automated routines within athenaNet(R), athenahealth’s web-based platform. This will present the group with expanded accessibility for patients after-hours and on weekends, improved self-pay revenue stream, re-captured staff and physician time, reduced no-shows, as well as elimination of expensive paper-based mailing campaigns.

athenaCommunicator will work seamlessly with athenaCollector(R), athenahealth’s web-based medical billing and practice management service, which is fully integrated with athenahealth’s electronic health record (EHR) service, athenaClinicals(SM). Combined, these three services will provide Southwest Kidney Institute with a single, unified practice management platform that will help to improve their practice and patient communications across a number of fronts.

“When we decided it was time to upgrade our practice management capabilities and current EHR system, we researched a number of companies in the market. After seeing how athenahealth is able to harness the power of the Internet into a flexible solution that meets a number of our needs, we looked no further,” said Pam Young, Chief Administrative Officer for Southwest Kidney Institute. “athenahealth is able to offer us services to support our practice from a billing and health record standpoint, as well as the ability to better communicate with our patients 24/7. We believe this will greatly improve the level of care and attention we can provide to our many patients. Knowing that we have a trusted business partner in athenahealth improves our ability to focus on what matters most: patient care.”

Jonathan Bush, Chairman and CEO of athenahealth, commented, “Like many providers of health care, Southwest Kidney Institute experienced unfortunate limitations with legacy software solutions that are siloed and require new installations with every update. Such software requires burdensome investments and hours and hours of training to keep pace with changes in the industry. Our Internet-based offering is updated automatically, growing more intelligent with every instance of use, and it requires minimal upfront investment of time and dollars. As a result, we are confident that Southwest Kidney Institute will be able to manage their business more effectively and, in turn, focus more energy on caring for patients.”