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Oregon Health System Creates Integrated Clinical Information System; Helps Community Physicians Qualify for ARRA Funding

The St. Charles Health System, a private not-for-profit corporation that operates four hospitals with an active medical staff of 350 physicians, has selected Allscripts as the provider of Electronic Health Record ( EHR ) and Practice Management (PM) solutions for the health system's employed and affiliated physicians.

The selection of Allscripts is a key component of St. Charles Health System's creation of a clinically integrated health information system that will support the practice of evidence-based medicine and streamline patient care.

"This ground-breaking model has already been singled out at the national level based on our creative programs, outstanding quality outcomes and community outreach," said James A. Diegel, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Charles Health System. "Our agreement with Allscripts represents significant progress toward the creation of an integrated delivery system, and ultimately, toward helping to achieve our goals of improving the patient experience, reducing per capita cost and improving the overall health of the population. At the end of the day, this work is truly about improving the health of our friends, family and neighbors."

Allscripts Chief Executive Officer Glen Tullman commented, "St. Charles Health System has demonstrated visionary leadership among Northwest healthcare organizations by committing to provide its employed and affiliated physicians with both the connectivity and the information that will be required to support high-quality care while at the same time removing the duplication and waste that inevitably lead to higher costs. We're proud to be partnered with St. Charles in their efforts to create a connected community of health, something we believe is fundamental to keeping communities healthier in the future."

Integrated EHR and PM Includes Clinical Decision Support , Pay-for-Quality Reporting

St. Charles Health System will provide the Allscripts integrated Electronic Health Record and Practice Management solution to the physician members of the St. Charles Medical Group. The group consists of physicians employed by the health system as well as affiliated physicians who will receive the Allscripts system via a St. Charles-operated medical service organization.

The Allscripts Electronic Health Record and Practice Management solution is an easy-to-deploy, physician-centric solution that improves the delivery of safe, cost-effective, high-quality care. The Electronic Health Record provides caregivers instant and secure access to the complete patient record anytime and anywhere, while automating everyday clinical tasks and connecting physicians to pharmacies, laboratories and other healthcare stakeholders. The Practice Management solution improves the productivity of administrative staff, simplifies patient record keeping, streamlines billing and improves cash flow, with the industry's most user-friendly interface and extensible design.

s part of the Allscripts deployment, St. Charles Medical Group physicians will receive the Allscripts Clinical Quality Solution (CQS), which draws data from the Electronic Health Record to automate the quality reporting requirements of most government and payer-funded "pay-for-performance" programs. CQS also delivers real-time clinical decision support information to physicians at the point of care, which promotes high quality patient care.

St. Charles Underwrites EHR-PM Offering for Affiliated Physicians to Help Achieve " Meaningful Use "

To meet the unique needs of physicians in smaller practices, Allscripts provides an integrated Electronic Health Record and Practice Management solution that is available via either SaaS (Software as a Service) or traditional on-premise delivery, giving physicians a choice of what works best for them. The SaaS option is designed to help smaller physician practices overcome cost and IT complexity barriers.

For independent physicians with referring privileges to St. Charles Health System facilities, the health system will underwrite a portion of the Allscripts solution's monthly cost, which will cover full implementation of the technology, upgrades and initial training, and a fee to receive services through the Oregon Community Health Information Network's (OCHIN) Regional Extension Center.

"St. Charles wants to help physician practices acquire and implement EHR systems and achieve 'meaningful use' so that they may take advantage of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funding," said Bill Winnenberg, St. Charles Health System Chief Information Officer. Starting in 2011, the Act provides between $44,000 and $64,000 to physicians who adopt and demonstrate meaningful use of an EHR .

Health Information Exchange Bolsters Physician-Hospital Connectivity

To improve the quality and continuity of health data, and enable more efficient coordination of care, St. Charles will also provide a health information exchange ( HIE ). This will allow the hospital and physicians to securely exchange health information, including test results and other clinical information from the Electronic Health Record. It will also allow patients and physicians (and their staffs) to connect electronically, perform electronic prescribing, assist with chronic care management, automate administrative functions and more.

Importantly, the HIE will also allow for the aggregation and analysis of data, which will be a boon to clinical research and the practice of evidence-based medicine.

"There is no question that health care is better delivered when physicians, hospitals, and other providers work together closely," said Dr. Michel Boileau, chairman of the Physician Hospital Alignment for Central Oregon (PHA), which represents more than 480 physicians and providers, and St. Charles leaders, in Central Oregon.

Source: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions , Inc.

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