• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Healthcare Nonprofit Lumetra Launches New Business Unit to Focus on Health Information Technology

Posted on: Monday, 27 February 2006, 12:00 CST

Following its debut at the Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) 2006 Conference and Exhibit, Lumetra, a San Francisco-based independent healthcare organization, launched Illumisys, a new business division focused on health information technology. Illumisys is dedicated to assisting healthcare providers in the transformation of their organizations through the adoption and use of technology. Illumisys provides electronic health record (EHR) implementation, consulting, education, and training services for physicians and medical organizations.

"I'm thrilled to bring Illumisys' expert resources to the marketplace and to have shared our capabilities with healthcare providers at the HIMSS Annual Conference," said John Weir, managing director, Illumisys. "The Illumisys team is acutely aware of the challenges healthcare providers face in the information age, and we are uniquely positioned to assist physicians and medical organizations in making informed decisions about EHR system readiness, implementation, and utilization."

As part of its initial launch, Illumisys also announced a strategic alliance to strengthen its offering to healthcare providers nationwide.

In partnership with Ramius Corporation, developer of CommunityZero(R) on-line community-based collaboration software, Illumisys will act as the software distributor and provide services associated with subject matter content within California and across Medicare's national Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) program. This partnership will offer healthcare professionals highly effective and secure collaborative communication between peers, coworkers and others in the industry regardless of physical location.

Illumisys' core competencies stem from the team's pioneering work as the national lead on the groundbreaking, four-state Doctor's Office Quality-Information Technology (DOQ-IT) Program. The primary focus of DOQ-IT was to assist small- and medium-sized physician offices in adopting EHR systems. Funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and supported by the American Academy of Family Physicians, DOQ-IT achieved twice the average national rate of EHR system adoption over the course of the two-year project. The DOQ-IT Program and methodology resulted in an EHR adoption rate of 30 percent among participants in California, compared to the national average of just 17.6 percent.

"There is a real need among physicians for a process or methodology from trusted experts to help them make sense of the many EHR systems currently on the market," said Jo Ellen H. Ross, president and CEO, Lumetra. "Illumisys fills that need by providing demonstrated tools and training methods to figure out what system is right for them. Health information technology is about making physicians lives easier, and patient care better and safer."

Integrating health information technology systems -- either in a physician's office, or a large practice environment -- can help healthcare professionals dramatically improve the care and safety of their patients, their readiness for pay-for-performance initiatives, administrative efficiency, and population-based reporting capabilities.

"We are enthusiastic about our new business opportunities and valued partnership. I firmly believe Illumisys is in a prime position to meet the needs of physician offices and medical groups for EHR adoption and product implementations, as well as addressing the issues of scalability associated with EHR education programs," said Weir.

Note to Editors:

About Illumisys

Illumisys was founded in 2005 as the health information technology division of Lumetra, an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality, safety, and integrity of healthcare. Illumisys is dedicated to assisting healthcare providers in the transformation of their organizations through the adoption and use of technology. For more information, visit www.illumisys.org.

About Ramius Corporation

Ramius Corporation is a leading developer of online community systems for virtual collaboration and knowledge sharing. Founded in 1998, Ramius Corporation is a privately held company that has attracted almost 2 million users representing well over 100,000 communities.

Ramius' software, trademarked under the name 'CommunityZero(R)', is award winning Java-based software that enables users to establish online communities for collaboration. First released in 1999, CommunityZero(R) is currently in its third-generation. CommunityZero(R) continues to be distinguished by its ease-of-use, breath of functionality, broad applicability, security, and scalability.

For more information, please visit http://www.ramius.net/healthcare.cfm

 Contact: Melissa Swanson (415) 677-2196 Contact via http://www.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=EB32920A23180646  

SOURCE: Lumetra

Source: MARKET WIRE

More News in this Category