Medsphere’s OpenVista enables Texas county hospital to meet Medicare and Medicaid requirements of federal reimbursement program and receive more than initial investment cost of OpenVista
CARLSBAD, Calif. & MIDLAND, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Medsphere Systems Corporation and Midland Memorial Hospital today announced that Midland Memorial has met the requirements for Stage One Meaningful Use with Medsphere’s OpenVista system, the empowering electronic health record (EHR), and has received an initial reimbursement from the federal government. According to Midland Memorial administrators, the hospital has received initial disbursements of $2.3 million from the Medicare side of the program and $1 million in Medicaid compensation.
Having gone live in early 2006, well before the federal reimbursement program was established, Midland Memorial is Medsphere’s long-standing partner and a true pioneer in the adoption of open source EHRs derived from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ VistA system, the most widely used EHR in the world. The 320-bed West Texas hospital will ultimately receive in excess of $7 million, significantly more than the initial investment cost of OpenVista, from the federal government over the life of the Meaningful Use reimbursement program established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
“When Midland Memorial embarked on their EHR journey, there was no federal Meaningful Use reimbursement program, clearly demonstrating both the foresight and commitment to quality of Midland hospital administrators,” said Medsphere President and CEO Irv Lichtenwald. “It is so gratifying to see our valued partner receive this financial reward for their extensive efforts to improve patient care and control costs.”
Since implementing OpenVista, Midland Memorial has significantly improved the quality of patient care, with 93 percent of physicians using OpenVista. It has also been recognized repeatedly as one of the nation’s best hospitals. In 2008 alone, the hospital was named a Thomson Top 100 Hospital and one of America’s Best Hospitals, and also received a CEO HIT Achievement Award from the Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) and a Performance Award from U.S. News and World Report. Also in 2008 Midland Memorial was named one of the first 11 hospitals in the nation to receive HIMSS Analytics Stage 6 recognition for comprehensive health IT adoption.
“I simply can’t say enough about the flexibility and hard work of Midland Memorial clinicians and staff over the last few years. They embraced twenty-first century healthcare technology before there was a financial incentive to do so, which says a great deal about their level of commitment,” said Midland Memorial CEO Russell Meyers. “Medsphere and OpenVista gave us an economical path to a comprehensive EHR, and we look forward to working collaboratively to enhance the solution as we prepare for the next stages of Meaningful Use.”
Midland Memorial joins other Medsphere hospital partners who have received federal stimulus funds, including the previously announced Hoboken University Medical Center, which recently received an estimated $3 million of what is expected to be roughly $8 million in total federal reimbursement.
According to statistics provided at the end of September by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), slightly less than 10 percent of all U.S. hospitals have met Meaningful Use requirements and received stimulus funds. As one of a select group of hospitals that have received federal reimbursement, Midland Memorial has demonstrated what a community hospital can accomplish with the right system, partners and commitment.
About Medsphere and OpenVista
Founded in 2002 and based in Carlsbad, Calif., Medsphere Systems Corporation is an award-winning organization of clinical and technology professionals working to make quality health IT solutions accessible to organizations of virtually any size, shape or budget. Medsphere’s OpenVista® is a portfolio of clinical support products and professional services that leverages an electronic health record (EHR) system developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. This VistA EHR is widely credited with helping transform the VA into the nation's most efficient and clinically effective healthcare organization. OpenVista, the most fully commercialized VistA offspring, is a responsible reapplication of the VA’s $8.5 billion investment, which recent studies show have yielded $3.09 billion in benefits, primarily from the near elimination of medication administration issues and duplicate testing.
Medsphere’s subscription-based pricing model enables hospital, clinic and integrated delivery network customers to pay for OpenVista from their operating budget with no upfront costs or back-end balloon payments. Expert implementation and other services facilitate fluid and rapid transition to a paperless clinical environment focusing on best practices and evidence-based medicine in six to nine months. Medsphere also actively nurtures the Healthcare Open Source Ecosystem, a global community of customers, partners, developers and other online collaborators who drive OpenVista innovation, and provide a parallel development and support structure.
Learn more about Medsphere’s OpenVista at www.medsphere.com.
Keywords:
Medsphere, OpenVista, electronic health record, EHR, electronic medical record, EMR, Midland Memorial Hospital, Meaningful Use, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARRA
CONTACT:
Medsphere Systems
David Macfarlane, 760-692-3751
[email protected]
or
Stalwart Communications
David Oats, 858-750-5560
[email protected]
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