Eclipsys Corporation® (NASDAQ:ECLP), The Outcomes Company®,
today announced that Athens Regional Medical Center (Athens Regional), a
375-bed regional referral center located in Athens, GA, has selected
Eclipsys PeakPractice™ electronic medical record (EMR)/practice
management (PM) solution. As a current user of Eclipsys’ integrated
clinical system, Sunrise Enterprise™, Athens Regional will use
PeakPractice to link vital patient information with its network of
physicians to achieve greater continuity of care and enhanced patient
safety across its care community. Physician networks in scope for the
technology initiative include Athens Regional Physician Services, Athens
Regional FirstCare and Athens Regional Specialty Services, which
encompass 58 physicians practicing at 27 locations.
"This initiative will serve to standardize data transfer and
communication between our organization’s ambulatory and acute care
environments, while at the same time serving to enhance the efficiency
and quality of care within our physician practice offices,” said Tim
Penning, chief information officer, Athens Regional Medical Center.
"PeakPractice is a very appealing solution that runs on a single
database, enabling integration and automation of all of the paperwork
and clinical documentation required for episodes of care in a community
practice setting. We look forward to implementing our strategic
physician alignment plan and facilitating the exchange of care
information that leads to an enhanced patient care experience and
improved outcomes.”
Additional Program to Help Community Physicians Achieve ARRA
"Meaningful Use”
In a later phase, Athens Regional will utilize PeakPractice to link care
information with participating affiliated community physicians in
Northeast Georgia. By supporting development of an integrated EMR across
the community, the initiative will serve to further integrate patient
care information, such as patient allergies, current medications and
latest medical history across providers in a geographic region for
improved care continuity, safety and quality. The community EMR program
will utilize the Eclipsys HealthXchange™, powered by Medicity, to enable
the seamless exchange of information across a network of disparate and
disconnected EMR systems. The initiative also will serve to aid local
physicians in becoming eligible for stimulus funding associated the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, which provides
incentive payments to physicians who demonstrate "meaningful use” of an
electronic health record (EHR).
"We recognize the clinical and economic importance in achieving
connectivity among all healthcare providers and care settings in our
regional area,” said Larry Webb, chief financial officer, Athens
Regional Health Services. "Not only will this program support increased
operational efficiency within our organization, we are making it much
easier for community physicians to receive economic benefit from
adopting technology that supports improved care delivery, because the
PeakPractice solution offers capabilities to help enable physicians to
qualify for incentives under ARRA.”
An integrated Database with Extensive Workflow Customization Key
Factor in Selection
The PeakPractice solution also appealed to Athens Regional due to the
wide variety of specialists that practice within its physician
network—from pediatrics to urology. With flexible templates that enable
easy modification, the PeakPractice system offers ease of modification
to enable practitioners to easily adapt patient documentation to meet
the specialty’s unique workflow needs.
"A key requirement of ARRA mandates exchange of ‘semantically
interoperable’ information among care providers and between providers
and patients. By providing physicians with access to a connected
clinical solution and integrated EMR, Athens Regional is undertaking
significant ownership to promote enhanced care collaboration and
economic stimulus within the North Georgia region,” said Jay Deady,
Eclipsys’ executive vice president of Client Solutions. "We are very
pleased to work with this valued client as they utilize our proven
technology to realize their vision of physician alignment and
connectivity between all healthcare providers and care settings.”
About PeakPractice
To be showcased at HIMSS 2010 in Atlanta, March 1-4 (booth #5833),
PeakPractice is an award-winning .Net-based EMR/PM solution offering an
integrated database designed to tightly align the clinical and
administrative workflows of single, multi-specialty or multi-facility
environments. PeakPractice includes e-prescribing, patient portals,
patient kiosk, supply chain management, image management and Web portal
for physicians and patients. The solution is highly scalable and can be
delivered via a hosted service model or run on-site in the client’s own
environment.
The PeakPractice solution (version 1093) is a CCHIT Certified® 08
Ambulatory EHR product, and the solution meets the Certification
Commission’s EHR criteria for office-based use.
About Eclipsys HealthXchange
Eclipsys HealthXchange provides singular connectivity to consolidated
EHR software data through a Web portal that can be accessed by physician
practices, clinics, hospitals, labs, imaging centers, pharmacies and
other healthcare facilities. Widespread, secure access to interoperable
EHR data helps to increase patient safety, drives clinician and
administrative productivity, and fosters a more holistic and proactive
approach to patient care.
About Athens Regional
Athens Regional Health Services is one of Northeast Georgia's largest
health care systems. Comprised of a 375-bed, acute care facility, four
urgent care centers, a quality network of physicians, a health
maintenance organization and a home health agency, Athens Regional
Health Services is a progressive health care system committed to
excellence and dedicated to improving the health, wellness and quality
of life of its communities.
Athens Regional Medical Center services a 17-county service area in
Northeast Georgia, covering Athens-Clarke, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Madison,
Jackson, Barrow, Walton, Morgan, Greene, Taliaferro, Wilkes, Elbert,
Hart, Franklin, Banks, Stephens and Habersham. For more information, see www.armc.org.
About Medicity, Inc.
Medicity is the innovator in health information exchange (HIE)
technology. Medicity solutions empower hospitals, physicians and HIEs
with secure access to and exchange of health information – improving the
quality and efficiency of patient care locally, regionally and
nationally. For more information, please visit www.medicity.com.
About CCHIT
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®)
is a private, nonprofit organization that has been named by the federal
government as the Recognized Certification Body for health information
technology. Its mission is to accelerate the adoption of health
information technology by creating a credible, sustainable certification
program. The certification requirements are based on widely accepted
industry standards and involve the work of hundreds of expert volunteers
and input from a variety of stakeholders throughout the healthcare
industry. More information on CCHIT and CCHIT Certified® products is
available at www.cchit.org
and at www.ehrdecisions.com.
"CCHIT®” and "CCHIT Certified®” are registered marks of the
Certification Commission for Health Information Technology.
About Eclipsys
Eclipsys is a leading provider of advanced integrated clinical, revenue
cycle and performance management software, clinical content and
professional services that help healthcare organizations improve
clinical, financial and operational outcomes. For more information, see www.eclipsys.com
or email info@eclipsys.com.
Statements in this news release concerning the timing of implementation
and features and benefits provided by Eclipsys software, ARRA
qualification, evidence-based content and implementation and remote
hosting services are forward-looking statements and actual results may
differ from those projected due to a variety of risks and uncertainties.
Implementation and customization of Eclipsys software is complex and
time-consuming. Results depend upon a variety of factors and can vary by
client. Each client’s circumstances are unique and may include
unforeseen issues that make it more difficult than anticipated to
implement or derive benefit from software, content or services. The
success and timeliness of the company’s services will depend at least in
part upon client involvement, which can be difficult to control.
Eclipsys is required to meet specified performance standards, and the
contract can be terminated or its scope reduced under certain
circumstances, ARRA qualification requires compliance with standards
that are still evolving, and satisfaction of those standards may be
delayed. More information about company risks is available in recent
Form 10-Q and 10-K filings made by Eclipsys from time to time with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Special attention is directed to the
portions of those documents entitled "Risk Factors” and "Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations.” Eclipsys Corporation and The Outcomes Company are
registered trademarks of Eclipsys Corporation. PeakPractice, Sunrise
Enterprise, and HealthXchange are trademarks of Eclipsys Corporation.
Other product and company names in this news release are or may be
trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.