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Henry County Medical Center Selects McKesson for Electronic Health Record Initiative; Highly-Rated Paragon System Integrates Financial and Clinical Information to Support Strategic Technology Initiative

Posted on: Thursday, 14 September 2006, 12:01 CDT

Henry County Medical Center, a 142-bed hospital located in Paris, Tenn., recently selected McKesson's Paragon(TM) community hospital information system (HIS) to help caregivers provide safer, more efficient care through the use of electronic health records (EHRs). Under terms of the agreement, the medical center will deploy Paragon's comprehensive, integrated clinical and financial solution, along with McKesson's medical imaging and document imaging systems. The initiative is designed to bring together patient information into a comprehensive electronic record to improve clinical excellence.

"Our goal is to move our community hospital to a paperless medical record with information immediately accessible when and where our physicians, nurses and other clinicians need it to support patient care," said Tom Gee, chief executive officer, Henry County Medical Center. "McKesson demonstrated that it has both a commitment to our medical center and a system to address our need for integrated clinical communication, flexibility and a long life-cycle. McKesson's Paragon system addresses all of our requirements and is rated highly by current customers."

Henry County Medical Center plans to implement the Paragon solution over a period of 18 months, beginning with replacement of its current hospital information system. The medical center will deploy McKesson's document imaging to replace paper with electronic documents, which should significantly streamline registration and billing processes by reducing the need for manual chart retrieval. It also will deploy McKesson's picture archiving and communications system (PACS) solution to reduce film expenses and make medical images and information, such as diagnostic reports, available electronically for faster time to treatment. The second phase of the initiative will focus on point-of-care clinical applications. These solutions will enable nurses and physicians to increase efficiency and improve the quality of patient care by giving the entire care team immediate access to accurate patient information.

The affordable, yet highly rated Paragon solution, addresses the challenges of community hospitals by providing a comprehensive EHR solution to support patient safety initiatives, HIPAA and regulatory compliance, and financial management. Paragon received a No. 1 ranking in the community hospital information system category in the Top 20: KLAS 2006 Mid-Year Report Card issued in June 2006. The system uses industry-standard, Microsoft(R) technology, which protects an organization's ongoing investment and makes the operating system familiar to virtually all computer users.

"The selection of Paragon by Henry County Medical Center reflects McKesson's deep commitment to customer success and relationship-building," said Duncan James, group president, Business Performance Solutions, McKesson Provider Technologies. "The organization's decision to work with McKesson further validates our belief that a rich solution of integrated products on an open-architecture platform meets the specific needs of the community hospital market."

The Paragon system is the centerpiece of McKesson's Community Care Program(SM), which provides customers with functionally rich, integrated applications on a platform that is easy to learn, efficient to use and quick to implement. The Community Care Program was designed to help rural and community hospitals jump-start adoption of EHRs. The program packages Paragon with other McKesson solutions, including core EHR capabilities such as medical imaging, document imaging and automation systems, all specially designed to serve the needs of the community hospital sector, which serves 62 million Americans each year.

About Henry County Medical Center

Located in Paris, Tenn., Henry County Medical Center is a progressive, integrated healthcare organization committed to serving the healthcare needs of Henry County and the adjoining region. Including a 142-bed hospital and other facilities, the medical center provides a variety of outpatient services, as well as inpatient care. Henry County Medical Center is a county-owned and operated, nonprofit institution. For more information: http://www.hcmc-tn.org.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 16th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes, and improving the quality and safety of patient care. Over the course of its 173-year history, McKesson has grown by providing pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, physicians, homecare, and payors; hospital and retail pharmacy automation; and services for manufacturers and payors designed to improve outcomes for patients. For more information: http://mpt.mckesson.com.

About KLAS Enterprises

KLAS Enterprises, LLC, is a research firm specializing in monitoring and reporting the performance of information technology vendors in the healthcare field. KLAS has created a database of information on the performance of 300 vendors and 500 products, as judged by executives and clinicians from more than 4,500 healthcare facilities. The company gathers data through written evaluations and confidential interviews, and publishes results regularly. For more information on KLAS, visit www.healthcomputing.com. Copyright (C)2006 KLAS Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved.

Source: Business Wire

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