SAN DIEGO, CA -- In the latest expansion of its personal health management suite, McKesson announced the addition of Horizon Patient Kiosk™, a touch-screen solution for hospitals and physician offices that enables patients to electronically check in for appointments and procedures at the point of service. They can also access and review their own demographic information, view appointments, check outstanding balances and co-payments, and electronically sign consent forms. By automating routine processes, patients enjoy shorter wait-times while medical staff eliminate paperwork and increase throughput. This week McKesson will showcase Horizon Patient Kiosk and other solutions in its market-leading personal health management suite at the HIMSS 2006 Annual Conference & Exhibition in San Diego, Calif. (Booth 2137).
McKesson provides unmatched content and technology to support the proactive management of chronic disease and to promote the preventive care associated with health and wellness management. McKesson solutions touch more than 24 million American covered lives, with capabilities that include McKesson nurse disease management, remote monitoring, portal technology, physician-patient connectivity, nurse triage services and personal emergency response systems, to name a few. McKesson is the only company to offer solutions for all key stakeholders that address the needs of patients regardless of their location -- in the hospital, at home, work or while traveling.
"With customers that span virtually every aspect of healthcare, McKesson is uniquely positioned to understand and address the complex challenges of patient cost and quality," said Emad Rizk, M.D., president, McKesson Health Solutions. "Integration of this technology with call center and disease management programs will further enhance performance, leading to better clinical and financial outcomes. Within the next five years, we believe the demand for technology-enabled care programs will explode as the population ages, consumerism increases, and providers and payors alike are challenged with shrinking margins."
With chronic disease affecting almost half of the U.S. population and driving 83% of healthcare costs, providers and payors are increasingly turning to health IT as a means to help control costs and promote self-care and wellness management. McKesson is the leader in nurse triage call center services and community-based disease management for Medicaid and Medicare populations. It is also the world's largest developer and distributor of medical call center software for payors and providers, enabling them to help patients avoid unnecessary doctor physician or hospital care. Eight states in the U.S. use CareEnhance® nurse call centers or disease management for patients covered by Medicaid.
For Internet-savvy patients, Horizon(WP)® Patient Portal enables secure online communication with their care team, self-service tools, and access to their personal information anytime, anywhere via a secure Web connection. Patients with cancer, diabetes, congestive heart failure and other conditions can use the portal to become better informed about what to expect in the care process, leading to better health outcomes and greater satisfaction.
Over the past 18 months, McKesson has added two new patient solutions for use in the home -- McKesson Telehealth Advisor™ and McKesson Telehealth Guardian™. Telehealth Advisor is an in-home patient monitoring solution that provides chronic disease management for conditions such as asthma and heart disease. Using a small medical device in the home connected to a phone line, patients can receive electronic patient coaching, education and tracking of symptoms, behavior, knowledge and vital signs data. Telehealth Guardian is a personal emergency response system that includes a telephone-based communications unit, wireless transmitter in the home, and a specialized emergency response call center. In addition to promoting more effective self-care and reducing emergency room visits, the solutions reduce provider costs by enabling homecare nurses and medical staff to monitor a larger group of patients.
"All stakeholders -- patients, providers, payors and employers -- benefit when technology is used to reduce costs and improve care in the home," said Craig Frazier, McKesson's general manager for Extended Care Solutions. "The ability to equip patients and their care teams to monitor and manage chronic conditions, and then tie that information into the patient's electronic health record is essential to shifting the treatment paradigm. We must move from reactively addressing disease exacerbation to promoting and supporting self-management, prevention and wellness. Recent studies have shown that 86 % of patients who use remote monitoring say they better understand their medical condition and treatment and are better able to manage their chronic health conditions."
Patients who find they must use hospital services can register on McKesson's new patient kiosk, and once in a room, they can log on to Horizon PatientVision™. Using a bedside display or television, Horizon Patient Vision provides secure access to patient information with on-demand entertainment options, Internet access, e-mail and educational services.
Follow-up visits to physicians may be conducted via the Web using McKesson's physician-patient connectivity solution, which provides a secure, Web-based connection to facilitate efficient, non-urgent care online. Using the solution, physicians can conduct clinically structured, payor-reimbursed consultations with their patients in a secure, efficient and affordable manner. Patients can connect with their physicians for routine services like appointments, prescription refills and laboratory results.
"As growth in the 'over 65' population accelerates and chronic disease becomes more prevalent, it's essential that organizations choose a partner that can tie together the entire spectrum of care," said Pamela Pure, president, McKesson Provider Technologies. "McKesson has led the industry in developing a broad-based portfolio based squarely on the needs of the patient and with a strong return on investment to providers, payors and other stakeholders."
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