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Kailua Kona, Hawaii-based Ali'i Health Center chosen Aprima Medical Software EHR/PM solution from Local Reseller, Blue Cliff

Aprima Medical Software (originally iMedica), a leading developer of electronic health record (EHR) and practice management (PM) systems for medical practices, announced that Kailua Kona, Hawaii-based Ali'i Health Center, a 15-provider, multi-location, multispecialty practice, has chosen Aprima's EHR/PM solution, offered through local reseller, Blue Cliff. A go-live date is set for December 2009.

Aprima Medical Software solutions sold through Honolulu-based Blue Cliff qualify for Hawaii's HMSA Initiative for Innovation and Quality (HI-IQ) program. In an effort to transform health care in Hawaii, this program provides Hawaii physicians assistance in acquiring EHR systems by offering a 50 percent reimbursement of costs associated with a practice's adoption and implementation of an EHR solution, up to $20,000 per physician. The program expires in December.

Ali'i Health is one of the largest group practices in western Hawaii with six locations throughout Kona, and is affiliated with Kona Community Hospital. Its specialties include general surgery, internal medicine, orthopedics, urology, ENT and pediatrics.

"In addition to being certified for the HI-IQ eligibility, we really wanted a template-free solution. We needed one that included integrated in-house billing, and we wanted one that was designed for use on tablet PCs," said Sue McConnell, Ali'i's Administrative Director. "Prior to implementing Aprima's solution, Ali′i was outsourcing its billing. Aprima's integrated billing system and local Hawaiian support from Blue Cliff are extremely beneficial to a practice of our size."

"In any initiative of this kind, success begins with implementation. The HI-IQ program gives us the means to get our providers fully trained, and Blue Cliff's local presence allows for knowledgeable support in our own time zone. The tablet PCs offer our physicians increased mobility within their locations and enhanced functionality such as hand writing recognition and the ability to annotate on our clinical images for patients. This project really moves our practice ahead."

"When considering several EHR vendors, we were looking for one that could considerably lower our operating cost," adds Michael Mihora, CFO at Ali′i Health. "Eight of our 15 providers are using Aprima's built-in Dragon voice recognition which has cut time and cost significantly. Aprima enhances our level of care while also increasing our return on investment."

By avoiding templates, Aprima is also able to respect providers' individuality. This approach enables users to practice according to their own protocols rather than being forced to conform to standards found in other systems. It also eases product set up and adoption.

"Our partnership with Blue Cliff has opened up many doors for medical practices in Hawaii seeking local EHR implementation and support," said Michael Nissenbaum, CEO of Aprima. "Since Aprima is certified for the HI-IQ program, practices in Hawaii can take advantage of the EHR implementation fee subsidy the state offers. But they do have to act fast, as the subsidy expires in December. In Ali′i's case, this will amount to several hundreds of thousands of dollars, making it more viable to implement the system when it otherwise wouldn't be. The net result will be that the providers will be more efficient throughout their day, and most importantly, the patients of Hawaii will get better care as a result of Aprima's built-in functionality."

Source: Aprima Medical Software