CHICAGO and FORT WAYNE, Ind., April 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Allscripts, the leading provider of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions that physicians use to improve healthcare, announced today that The Heart Center Medical Group has selected the Allscripts Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Practice Management (PM) solution to automate and connect clinical and administrative processes for its 50 physicians.
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The Heart Center is a physician-owned multi-specialty group practice operating out of a new state-of-the-art 82,000-square-foot facility and nine other locations across the Fort Wayne area.
"We're trying to lead a little healthcare revolution right here in Indiana and Allscripts is the right partner to help," said Joel R. Sauer, Chief Executive Officer of the Heart Center. "It's a great situation when you can provide better patient care with a tool that let's you do better financially, too."
In 2001, the Heart Center implemented the Impact.MD document management solution from Allscripts. Impact.MD improves chart access and practice workflow by electronically scanning and filing current documents and making them accessible to the entire staff, regardless of their location. The Heart Center decided to implement the Allscripts solution as a step towards adopting a full Electronic Health Record.
"It's the best thing we ever did," Sauer said of deploying Impact.MD. "We now have lower costs on a per physician basis than we could ever have achieved with paper records. And we believe the electronic health record will bring even better results."
Sauer said the practice expects to hit the break-even point on its Allscripts EHR-PM purchase within eight to 12 months. Savings will come mainly in the form of reduced transcription expenses, personnel efficiencies in the clinical, support and billing areas, and the ability to more accurately capture charges, which lowers claims denials.
"Very few things generate a payback in one year but Allscripts has consistently proven they can do it," said Sauer. "In my mind, though, it doesn't matter when we hit that payback because we'll be doing a better job for our patients, better for ourselves, and more efficiently. The icing on the cake is that we can provide better care while making it positive for us financially in the long run."
Allscripts Chief Executive Officer Glen Tullman commented, "We're excited that the Heart Center and other leading cardiology groups think of Allscripts when they want to take their practices to the next level. The revolution that the Heart Center is leading will redefine how we manage chronic disease and maintain patient health. It's a transformation that Allscripts fuels with the right information delivered in real-time when and where it's needed."
The Heart Center looked at other integrated Electronic Health Record and Practice Management systems before selecting Allscripts. In the end, the group chose Allscripts because of its history of success with the company, and because no other EHR-PM solution on the market could match Allscripts for ease of use and depth of functionality. Sauer said the group's physicians were especially excited about Allscripts automated health maintenance plans, which help providers rapidly sort through complex data to more accurately understand the patient in less time.
"When our doctors saw the health-maintenance screen, everybody's eyes lit up," said Sauer. "When you can see in one place what every other provider is doing, you look like a hero to patients. You can say 'hey, I may be your cardiologist but I see you're overdue for your colonoscopy.' Patients win, we win, everybody wins."
The Allscripts Electronic Health Record will enable The Heart Center's physicians to instantly access patient information when and where they need it -- in the main campus or satellite offices, at the hospital or while on-call at home. The web-based solution speeds and automates everyday clinical tasks such as prescribing and refilling medications, ordering and viewing tests, and documenting care. Allscripts PM combines sophisticated scheduling and financial management tools in a single package that is fully integrated with the EHR.
About The Heart Center Medical Group
The Heart Center Medical Group is a physician-owned multi-specialty medical practice that has served the Fort Wayne community for more than 30 years. The group's 50 physicians serve as a resource for the diagnosis and treatment of illness, as well as disease prevention and the promotion of wellness. For more information, visit http://www.heartcentermedicalgroup.com.
About Allscripts
Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX) is the leading provider of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions that physicians use to improve healthcare. The company's unique solutions inform, connect and transform healthcare, delivering improved care at lower cost. More than 40,000 physicians and thousands of other healthcare professionals in clinics, hospitals and extended care facilities nationwide utilize Allscripts to automate everyday tasks such as writing prescriptions, documenting patient care, managing billing and scheduling, and safely discharging patients, as well as to connect with key information and stakeholders in the healthcare system. To learn more, visit Allscripts at http://www.allscripts.com.
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements about Allscripts Healthcare Solutions that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are developed by combining currently available information with Allscripts beliefs and assumptions. Forward-looking statements do not guarantee future performance. Because Allscripts cannot predict all of the risks and uncertainties that may affect it, or control the ones it does predict, Allscripts' actual results may be materially different from the results expressed in its forward-looking statements. For a more complete discussion of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may affect Allscripts, see the Company's 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K, available through the Web site maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov.
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