NASHVILLE, Tenn. & MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ICA, and the MidSouth eHealth Alliance (MSeHA), announced today that as of September 7, 2011, MSeHA’s 16 hospitals and multiple ambulatory clinics in the greater Memphis area moved to CareAlign 1.0 for its increased functionality and adoption capabilities. ICA is providing the technology and infrastructure for a densely populated regional health information exchange (HIE) that serves over 2.8 million patients in the Memphis metro area.
MSeHA is a non-profit initiative whose mission is to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare in the Mid-South region. By providing for the electronic exchange of health information, healthcare providers can securely access patients' vital health information when and where it is needed. MSeHA was established in 2004 as a result of grants from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the State of Tennessee, and is one of the oldest continuously operating HIEs in the country.
“MSeHA is expanding use of ICA’s CareAlign platform in a way that offers care providers easy access to pertinent and critical clinical information while supporting patient safety, quality and the financial objectives of MSeHA. Prior to the initial implementation of our HIE solution, our participating hospital emergency departments and clinics were providing care in the absence of patient history and knowledge of chronic conditions and current medications. This situation created an environment where diagnostic tests were being duplicated, unnecessary treatments were being ordered, and costs to clinics and hospitals were increasing, as were administrative tasks and costs. CareAlign has helped dramatically remedy that situation,” said Rodney Holmes, Executive Director of MSeHA. “With additional care team and workflow enhancements at our participants’ facilities, we hope to further our ability to assist in better coordination of care for patients and facilitate adoption by a wider range of providers within the community.”
“Having an aggregated longitudinal medical record in the acute care, emergency department and ambulatory settings is essential for both quality improvement and cost reduction,” said Dr. Reginald Coopwood, Chairman of the MSeHA Board and CEO of the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. “Implementation of the enhanced services of the CareAlign 1.0 platform only increases our ability to succeed within our current participants and expand our offering to more patient care settings across the Memphis area and beyond. It also positions us well for communicating effectively with the state HIE initiative and other HIEs across the region.”
ICA Chief Marketing Officer, John Tempesco, agrees that MSeHA’s objective to have clinical information immediately available and embedded in the physician’s workflow has been met. “MSeHA continues to be a leader in healthcare technology to improve the quality of care it delivers through care coordination, communication and collaboration within the Memphis region,” he said, adding, “Ultimately these three ‘Cs’ of healthcare delivery will lead to increased quality of care at reduced costs.”
About the MidSouth eHealth Alliance (MSeHA)
The MidSouth eHealth Alliance was established in 2004 with $12 million in combined grants from the Agency for Health care Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the State of Tennessee. It is a community-wide health information exchange in the greater Memphis, Tennessee area allowing providers to share patient information from inpatient, outpatient and emergency room treatments across multiple clinical facilities, including emergency departments, inpatient facilities, and ambulatory clinics. Visit MSeHA at www.midsoutheha.org.
About ICA
ICA was established to take innovative technology developed by Vanderbilt Medical Center to the broader healthcare market and now delivers a comprehensive HIE solution to hospitals, IDNs, communities and states. Unmatched in its ability to yield cost effectiveness, improved patient care, and better outcomes, ICA’s CareAlign solution captures complete data to enhance the decision making process. ICA’s CareAlign intelligence engine empowers HIEs to leverage existing core systems to construct a longitudinal patient record. CareAlign also features provider/patient portals, secure clinical communication, NHIN compliant interoperability, EHR-lite and population management tools. Visit www.icainformatics.com; follow us on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/icainformatics; and Facebook: www.facebook.com
CONTACT:
Dodge Communications for ICA
Elisabeth Deckon, 770-576-2550
[email protected]
or
Jeff Nessler, 770-576-2573
[email protected]
or
MidSouth eHealth Alliance
Rodney Holmes, 901-866-1640
[email protected]
KEYWORDS: United States North America Tennessee
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Technology Data Management Practice Management Health Hospitals
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