McKesson Announces Major New Clinical Release of Homecare Solution
McKesson Corporation today announced the release of McKesson Homecare™ v13.0, which represents a major advancement in how homecare clinicians document treatment and develop care plans. The software incorporates evidence-based principles into the natural flow of a patient visit, helping to increase efficiency in both clinical and agency operations while supporting collaborative, interdisciplinary care. It also flags deviations from evidence-based practices for follow-up by quality assurance (QA) staff, helping to reduce the need for internal auditing.
“This is not just a new release; it’s a new way for home health agencies to concentrate on their core mission to take great care of their patients,” says Randy Hyun, vice president and general manager, McKesson Extended Care Solutions Group. “We brought together industry experts and McKesson professionals to develop clinical decision support tools at the point of care. Because of the intuitive approach of McKesson Homecare v13.0, clinicians can be trained in two hours or less and become proficient within two weeks. With these tools, home health agencies can be more confident in the care they deliver.”
McKesson Homecare v13.0 uses patent-pending CareAxis Technology™ to guide clinicians through the care planning process. Dynamic assessment tools prompt patient questions to help complete the necessary documentation without filling out each form separately. The result is an efficient pathway to an interdisciplinary care plan that the clinician can refine or modify as necessary and a Medical Plan of Treatment or interim orders for a physician to review and sign.
McKesson Homecare v13.0 facilitates collaboration among members of the internal care team or with other providers. This approach is especially beneficial in such emerging care models as accountable care organizations and patient-centered medical homes. The system uses standard coding of medical and clinical terms for interoperability with electronic health records and other systems.
“Overall, we believe CareAxis Technology will help increase the quality of care we provide with the integration of best and evidence-based practices in every visit, reduce the days to accounts receiveable, improve cash flow and make us more productive for clinicians while reducing paper processes,” says Stoney Wayment, CEO, Applegate HomeCare & Hospice, Ogden, Utah. “Besides patient care, we anticipate employee satisfaction will go up.”
Applegate HomeCare & Hospice, which serves a majority of Utah and has a combined daily census of 500, is one of the McKesson Homecare customers that beta tested version 13.0 for several months.
Wayment notes that this release emphasizes clinical care throughout the care delivery process, from referrals and intake, scheduling, delivery of quality care, and the QA process. “We will be able to maintain a lean operational staff while increasing our efficiencies in our clinical processes,” Wayment says. “We will be able to focus our clinical leadership team on staff development and quality of care because we will be able to reduce the amount of time we spend on documentation QA.”
McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 14th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We partner with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit us at .