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Heritage Provider Network and Dr. Richard Merkin Highlight Cutting Health Care Costs Using Electronic Medical Records

Posted on: Monday, 21 September 2009, 15:01 CDT

MARINA DEL REY, Calif., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Electronic medical records have been a cornerstone of the successful health care formula prescribed by Dr. Richard Merkin, CEO for Heritage Provider Network. HPN and its 25 medical facilities in California and Healthcare Partners IPA in New York have been eliminating waste and cutting costs while providing quality healthcare to their patients for the past 30 years by focusing on the importance of integrating electronic medical records.

Decades ahead of the current health care debate, HPN falls into the 15% of those in the United States who use electronic medical records, compared to other western countries where there is 95% usage. Dr. Anthony Dulgeroff, assistant medical director at High Desert Medical Group, part of the HPN family, believes "wider adoption of electronic medical records keeping gives physicians quicker access to a broad field of data about a patient." Adding further, " it keeps patients out of the hospital therefore cutting down costs to the medical system and the patient."

Dr. Dulgeroff continued, "Whether it is heart failure, diabetic conditions or emphysema, or all of those together, in the modern age, we want to have all the specialists using the same systems so patients don't end up in the hospital." Storing medical records online vs. hand written charts in filing cabinets is faster, gives a wide variety of physicians instant access to the patients' history and is highly cost effective."

"HPN has recognized the critical importance of electronic medical records to assist the patient in immediate, thorough and comprehensive medical care for the past 30 years," said Dr. Richard Merkin. "The savings are passed on to the patient and enable us to manage their care in an accountable way."

"To improve the quality of our health care while lowering its cost, we will make the immediate investments necessary to ensure that, within five years, all of America's medical records are computerized," President Obama said earlier this year. "This will cut waste, eliminate red tape and reduce the need to repeat expensive medical tests."

About Heritage Provider Network

Heritage Provider Network, Inc. (HPN) represents the cutting edge of coordinated, managed, patient-doctor centric, cost effective health care systems offering the future of medicine and health care in the United States. HPN develops programs and services that are responsive to the healthcare needs of today's patient. HPN designs its networks to offer patients a comprehensive range of medical care in convenient locations. It organizes and manages medical groups and independent practice associations, which it integrates with hospitals and ancillary care providers to form integrated health care systems that represents a workable, successful business model mastering keeping the quality of health care up and the costs down, and has been duplicated with medical groups and IPAs with 25 medical facilities in California and Healthcare Partners, an IPA, in New York. HPN is comprised of 3,500 primary care physicians, 13,000 specialists and 36 hospitals. HPN is dedicated to quality, affordable health care and putting patients' wellness first. www.heritageprovidernetwork.com

SOURCE Heritage Provider Network

Source: PR Newswire

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