Building on the successful deployment of McKesson’s electronic health record (EHR) in its employed physician practices, Akron General has purchased Practice Partner, a fully-integrated EHR/practice management system. The company will offer this solution to their Physician Hospital Organization and additional affiliated physicians in the community. The scope of physicians who can benefit from the initiative is more than 500 providers.
Dr Jack Mitstifer, president of Inpatient Services at Akron General, said: “Akron General is on the fast track to becoming a national showcase for what a connected medical community should look like. By expanding our partnership with McKesson, we are implementing all the right tools and connections to establish an ambulatory care center of excellence and make it easier than ever for the regional healthcare community to do business with us.”
Akron General already has identified dozens of area physician practices ready to participate in the project by implementing the Practice Partner solution. Once installed, the EHR/practice management system, paired with the RelayHealth connectivity platform, will enable physicians to electronically document patient care, submit prescriptions and receive laboratory results.
Additionally, Akron General and physician practices will be able to electronically share clinical patient information, enhancing communication within the healthcare community. A local McKesson certified value-added reseller, Complete Healthcare Solutions, will provide implementation and support services for physicians implementing the Practice Partner solution.
The upgrade of Akron General’s existing healthcare information technology (HIT) systems will bring the hospital onto the latest release of McKesson’s Horizon Clinicals advanced inpatient solution suite. In addition to enhancements for existing systems, plans include new capabilities to enhance patient safety such as a computerized provider order entry (CPOE) system.
With CPOE, hospital physicians will be able to submit patient order requests electronically and provide accurate and timely communication regarding patient needs. In addition, Akron General is implementing business intelligence solutions that will help make informed decisions to improve clinical, financial and operational efficiencies.