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Community Health Centers Select Sage Intergy CHC Community Health Management System

Posted on: Tuesday, 24 March 2009, 08:00 CDT

Intergy CHC streamlines data collection; simplifies UDS reporting

TAMPA, Fla., March 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Reaffirming its position as a leading provider of integrated electronic health records and community health management solutions to federally qualified health centers (FQHC) nationwide, Sage today announced that Family Health Centers of Baltimore, StayWell Health Care, Inc. and HealthLinc, formerly Hilltop Community Health Center, have selected its Sage Intergy CHC community health management system. The enterprise solution increases the efficiency of business and administrative processes including sliding-fee schedules and Uniform Data System (UDS) reporting. The community health centers also purchased other Sage solutions, including Sage Intergy EHR electronic health records system.

"Following an exhaustive product evaluation, we concluded that Sage was the only vendor offering a highly effective, single-database physician practice management and EHR solution tailored for Community Health Centers," said Lule Tracey, chief financial officer (CFO) at Connecticut-based StayWell, a facility that consists of 89 users, including 33 physician and other clinical care providers. "Other vendors could offer one high quality product, but not two that were equally outstanding. Additionally, we had already experienced great success with another Sage solution, Sage Medical Manager and Sage Practice Analytics, which played a key role in accelerating the growth of our enterprise and enabled us to deliver better care to our medically underserved and uninsured populations while still meeting the demanding and distinctive reporting requirements placed upon FQHCs."

According to Greg Williams, CFO of Family Health Centers of Baltimore (FHCB), "As an FQHC, we must comply with billing and reporting requirements that are unique to community health centers, making our workflow even more challenging than the workflow at private physician practices. With 91 users, including 14 physicians at three locations and 40 residents in training per year, we needed a technologically advanced solution like Sage Intergy CHC to meet our complex clinical and business needs."

In addition to Sage Intergy CHC and Sage Intergy EHR, FHCB will use Sage Practice Analytics and an interface between Sage MIP Fund Accounting and Sage Intergy CHC, which will enable the organization to manage budgets, maximize grants, and produce accurate, customized reports faster and more easily. "It was essential for us to obtain an integrated solution due to our involvement in several HRSA national collaboratives," added Williams. "Sage solutions allow us to efficiently capture, report and analyze our data - functions that are critical to improving patient safety and outcomes." The center will also be interfacing Sage Intergy CHC to their dental health record and to laboratory and pharmacy systems.

"Most of HealthLinc's patients have Medicaid coverage or are uninsured, so we use a sliding fee scale to ensure that we can treat patients, regardless of their ability to pay," said HealthLinc CEO, Beth Wrobel. "Without the streamlined clinical and administrative processes delivered by Sage Intergy CHC, we couldn't have scaled our organization to meet the needs of our community and maintained our high standards of timely and quality care."

Key features of Sage Intergy CHC include:

• Sliding fee schedules for medical and dental and services that are based on federal poverty guidelines.
• UDS reporting to Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which the federal agency uses to improve community health center performance, address healthcare disparities, ensure compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements, and identify effective services and interventions.
• Automatic Insurance Plan Assignment
• Collection module to track and collect payments from multiple insurers.
• Comprehensive Medicare and Medicaid clinic rate maintenance
• Full integration with Sage Intergy EHR and Sage Practice Analytics for a complete demographic, financial and clinical data collection and reporting solutions.

"We are delighted that Family Health Centers of Baltimore, StayWell Health Care and HealthLinc selected us as their technology partner of choice," said Sharon Howard, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing for Sage. "These organizations face intense clinical and operational challenges. Our selection validates the unparalleled value of our solution and our commitment to helping community health centers nationwide fulfill their mission of providing high quality care."

To see a demonstration of Sage Intergy CHC and Sage Intergy EHR, visit booth #606 at NACHC Policy and Issues Forum.

About Family Health Centers of Baltimore

Established in 1977, Family Health Centers of Baltimore, Inc. (FHCB) is a not-for-profit 501(C)(3) corporation that provides the broadest range of primary care services at the lowest cost to consumers. The center, which provides community-based one-stop convenience for consumers, is the model of care delivery that characterizes FHCB's approach. Primary care services include pediatrics, family medicine, internal medicine, diabetes education, and nutrition counseling. OB/GYN, dental services, podiatry, pharmacy and mental health services are provided on-site. An addictions service staff consisting of an addictions psychiatrist, certified addictions counselors, and an outreach worker, provides outpatient detoxification services. For more information, visit www.fhcb.org.

About HealthLinc

Founded in 1996, HealthLinc, formerly Hilltop Community Health Center, is a community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health of Northwest Indiana residents. It offers a wide range of quality health care services to those in need. Its primary service area is rural northwest Indiana (Porter, Starke, Jasper, and LaPorte counties). For more information, visit http://www.hilltopchc.org/

About StayWell Health Care Inc.

StayWell Health Care Inc., is a Federally Qualified Health Center that has been operating in Waterbury, Conn., since 1972. It opened as part of the Model Cities Program, a federal effort to bring health services to the Medically Underserved Areas of the city. Originally operated by the City of Waterbury, Department of Health, StayWell Health Care Inc. became a non-profit tax-exempt corporation in 1994. Since then, it has seen steady growth in its client base, providing high quality community health care and social services to the underserved and underinsured of the Greater Waterbury area, including medical, dental, and mental health with the focus on prevention. For more information, visit www.staywellhealth.org.

About Sage Software Healthcare, Inc.

Sage Software Healthcare, Inc., provides integrated electronic health records, EDI applications and practice management systems to thousands of ambulatory care practices throughout North America. These systems enable physicians and practice managers to better manage their practices and improve profitability. Sage Software Healthcare, Inc. is based in Tampa, Fla., and is a division of Sage North America. For more information, please visit www.sagehealth.com or call (877) 932-6301.

About Sage North America

Sage North America is part of The Sage Group plc, a leading global supplier of business management software and services. At Sage, we live and breathe business every day. We are passionate about helping our customers achieve their ambitions. Our range of business software and services is continually evolving as we innovate to answer our customers' needs. Our solutions support accounting, operations, customer relationship management, human resources, time tracking, merchant services and the specialized needs of the construction, distribution, healthcare, manufacturing, nonprofit and real estate industries. Sage North America employs approximately 4,800 people and supports nearly 2.9 million small and medium-size business customers. The Sage Group plc, formed in 1981, was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and now employs more than 14,500 people and supports 5.8 million customers worldwide. For more information, please visit the web site at www.sagenorthamerica.com or call 866-308-2378.

(C) 2009 Sage Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Sage, Sage Software, Sage logos and the Sage product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software, Inc. or its affiliated entities. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Sage Software Healthcare, Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

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