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Southwest General Health Center Selects Allscripts Web-Hosted Electronic Health Record

Posted on: Wednesday, 27 May 2009, 09:00 CDT

CHICAGO and MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio, May 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Allscripts announced today that Southwest General Health Center (SGHC) has selected Allscripts Professional(R) Electronic Health Record (EHR) for its 30 employed physicians in multi-specialty practices across suburban Cleveland, Ohio.

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SGHC is a 356-bed acute care hospital and health center with its own physician group, outpatient clinics and home care services. It has been named one of the nation's Top 50 hospitals by Healthgrades, and a Top 100 hospital by Thomson Reuters.

SGHC selected Allscripts because of the company's stability and vision, and because its physicians liked the Electronic Health Record's exceptional flexibility and usability.

"Our practices have multiple locations, and the current method of moving paper charts from one office to another is not efficient," noted Jeff Bushong, Executive Director of Southwest General Medical Group, SGHC's employed medical group. "The Allscripts Electronic Health Record will make it much easier to access patient information wherever a doctor happens to be. The ability to interface the ambulatory care record with our Cerner hospital information system will also help physicians access lab results and hospital reports more quickly, and improve the coordination of care across our enterprise."

The Allscripts Electronic Health Record will be integrated with SGHC's MicroMd practice management system, and connected to all of the labs and imaging centers the group does business with. The solution is flexible enough to accommodate the needs of all of the practice's specialties across its 15 sites.

Terri Rini Barber, Vice President and Chief Information Officer of SGHC, commented, "Allscripts technology will improve our physicians' workflow and ensure that they get the right information at the right time to make informed decisions for our patients."

Bushong noted that the Electronic Health Record will enable the group to take advantage of upcoming federal stimulus incentives. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 makes available a maximum of between $44,000 and $64,000 in incentives for physicians who deploy and use Electronic Health Records. Studies demonstrate that effective use of Electronic Health Records reduces medical errors, improves clinical quality, and leads to better patient outcomes by enabling real-time access to patient records, medical information and best-practice guidelines, as well as electronic connectivity to all healthcare stakeholders, including patients.

Allscripts will deliver the Electronic Health Record for SGHC physicians using secure Internet connections that leverage the Software as a Service (SaaS) model. This is a simple, affordable means of delivering vital patient information to caregivers without the upfront costs of purchasing new computer equipment or adding extra IT staff to host the solution in-house. The SaaS model also speeds deployment and is becoming an increasingly important option for mid-sized and independent practices.

"As we move from simple use of an Electronic Health Record to an information based healthcare system, physicians, like those at Southwest General, will appreciate not only our ease of use and deployment capabilities, but also the depth and breadth of our Professional Electronic Health Record and its ability to produce the kind of quality reporting that will become increasingly important in the post-stimulus environment," said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts. "The availability of government financial incentives paired with our Software as a Service hosted environment capability for easier deployment and management makes this the right time for Southwest General to position its physicians for the future with our CCHIT-certified Electronic Health Record."

The Allscripts Professional Electronic Health Record for independent and medium-sized physician practices is an easy-to-deploy, physician-centric solution that helps doctors provide safe, high-quality, cost-effective care. The Electronic Health Record gives caregivers instant and secure access to the complete patient record anytime and anywhere, while automating everyday clinical tasks and connecting physicians to pharmacies, laboratories and other healthcare stakeholders.

About Southwest General Health Center

Recognized as one of America's 50 Best Hospitals by Healthgrades, Southwest General is a private, not-for-profit, 354-bed acute care facility located in Middleburg Heights, Ohio. Founded in 1920, Southwest General is home to nationally recognized physicians with full access to state-of-the-art medical technology. Southwest General has a deep commitment to providing personalized care and building a healthy future for the patients, families and communities it serves. Southwest General is the recipient of many national awards, including two from Thomson Reuters: 100 Top Hospitals and 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals. For six consecutive years Southwest General has been named among the Northcoast 99 Best Places to Work by the Employers Resource Council, and Modern Healthcare's 100 Best Places to Work nationally in the health care industry.

About Allscripts

Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX) uses innovation technology to bring health to healthcare. More than 150,000 physicians, 700 hospitals and nearly 7,000 post-acute and homecare organizations utilize Allscripts to improve the health of their patients and their bottom line. The company's award-winning solutions include electronic health records, electronic prescribing, revenue cycle management, practice management, document management, medication services, hospital care management, emergency department information systems and homecare automation. Allscripts is the brand name of Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. To learn more, visit www.allscripts.com.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements regarding future events, developments, the Company's future performance, as well as management's expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans, estimates or projections relating to the future are forward-looking statements within the meaning of these laws. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which are outlined below. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are: the volume and timing of systems sales and installations; length of sales cycles and the installation process; the possibility that products will not achieve or sustain market acceptance; the timing, cost and success or failure of new product and service introductions, development and product upgrade releases; competitive pressures including product offerings, pricing and promotional activities; our ability to establish and maintain strategic relationships; undetected errors or similar problems in our software products; compliance with existing laws, regulations and industry initiatives and future changes in laws or regulations in the healthcare industry; possible regulation of the Company's software by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; the possibility of product-related liabilities; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; our ability to identify and complete acquisitions, manage our growth and integrate acquisitions; the ability to recognize the benefits of the merger with Misys Healthcare Systems, LLC ("MHS"); the integration of MHS with the Company and the possible disruption of current plans and operations as a result thereof; maintaining our intellectual property rights and litigation involving intellectual property rights; risks related to third-party suppliers; our ability to obtain, use or successfully integrate third-party licensed technology; breach of our security by third parties; and the risk factors detailed from time to time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K available through the Web site maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Allscripts

Source: PR Newswire

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