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Low-cost, web-based EMRs help health care providers improve care and benefit from stimulus incentives Ingenix, a leader in health information solutions, offers a simple, cost-effective and easy-to-use electronic medical record (EMR) that, when combined with financial incentives from the economic stimulus package, overcomes common barriers cited by physician practices. Widespread EMR adoption is a key component of the Obama administration’s health reform strategy to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes. The Congressional Budget Office projects that stimulus incentives will encourage up to 90 percent of U.S. physicians to adopt EMRs by 2019.

Unlike traditional client/server-based EMRs, which require large up-front investments in hardware, software and implementation fees, Ingenix CareTracker EMR offers a low-cost alternative without sacrificing functionality, security or physician productivity. Physicians access Ingenix CareTracker EMR through a secure Web interface, which connects their practice to a network of labs, partner physicians and hospitals. It is simple to deploy and use with a pay-as-you-go monthly subscription fee. For as little as $5,000 per year, a single-physician practice can start using Ingenix CareTracker EMR with just four hours of physician training and six hours of office manager training.

Using a Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT)-certified EMR, such as Ingenix CareTracker EMR, will likely help physicians qualify for the highest level of Medicare reimbursement incentives outlined in the HITECH Act, a part of the stimulus package. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is expected to release EMR standards at the end of 2009.

“CareTracker helps us improve care by making all patient data available to clinicians regardless of location and reducing turnaround time for lab results from days to hours,” said Dr. Pablo Rodriguez, president and CEO of Women’s Care, a multi-site OB/GYN practice in Rhode Island.

Web-based network solutions support wider access to EMRs by overcoming the key barriers to adoption cited by doctors working in practices with 10 or fewer physicians – a group that represents 75 percent of all U.S. doctors according to a July 2008 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine[i]. Those barriers include implementation cost, finding an EMR that meets their needs and the risk of a negative impact on physician productivity due to the technical complexity of traditional solutions.

CareTracker has built-in monitoring capabilities to track physician compliance with pay-for-performance standards, enabling physicians to be rewarded for their performance without any additional administrative overhead.

Ingenix CareTracker is a family of web-based products and services that simplify administration of physician practices and improve care by enabling physicians to spend more time with patients. Today, more than 4,000 physicians nationwide use the three Ingenix CareTracker modules together or in combination with other third-party practice management systems. Ingenix CareTracker PM provides practice management functionality that optimizes administrative workflows for physician practices while Ingenix CareTracker EMR helps clinicians enter, retrieve and correlate patient information at the point of care. Ingenix CareTracker Services improve revenue cycle management with comprehensive billing and accounts receivable support. For more information, visit www.ingenix.com/caretracker.

About Ingenix
Ingenix, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, transforms organizations and improves health care through information and technology. Organizations rely on its innovative products, services and consulting to improve the delivery and operations of their business. More information about Ingenix can be obtained at www.ingenix.com.

Source: Ingenix