SAN DIEGO, CA -- McKesson today announced an agreement with Saint Luke's Health System (SLHS) in Kansas City, Mo., to deploy McKesson's Horizon Ambulatory Care™ electronic health record (EHR) to nearly 200 physicians in the metropolitan area and surrounding regions. The agreement, which includes electronic prescriptions (e-prescribing) and practice management, is designed to speed adoption of EHRs for enhanced patient safety and greater continuity of care across ambulatory and inpatient settings.
SLHS will first make the systems available to employed physicians using an incremental implementation that starts with e-prescribing. McKesson's e-prescribing system enables physicians to automatically perform drug screening for allergies, problems and other medications while checking prescriptions against payor formularies and eligibility rules. The health system will then phase in additional EHR capabilities, including the ability to place orders, document patient visits and make patient information available across care settings.
"As the largest not-for-profit health system in the Kansas City area, we have a vision of being the best place to get care and to give care," said John Wade, SLHS chief information officer. "By providing electronic health records that connect physicians with each other and the 10 hospitals in our system, we're equipping physicians with the information needed to provide patients with the best possible treatment regardless of when or where patients present themselves for care."
As one of just five healthcare organizations in the United States to win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest honor for quality and performance excellence, Saint Luke's is committed to superior levels of excellence in providing health services to all patients. SLHS has been a leader in the use of health IT, using information to drive continuous improvements in both clinical and operational performance.
SLHS' current ambulatory initiative builds on its highly successful use of Horizon Clinicals® solutions by nurses, physicians, pharmacists and other caregivers in SLHS acute-care facilities. According to Wade, one of the most valuable solutions that SLHS has deployed is McKesson's Horizon(WP)® Physician Portal, which enables secure, Web-based access to patient information regardless of the physician's location -- in the hospital, the office, at home or elsewhere.
"Physicians can get the critical information they need to make safe, informed treatment decisions," noted Wade, who plans to make the EHR system available through the portal, which averages more than 2,000 logins per week day. "It's all right there at the click of a mouse -- patient test results, diagnostic images, medication orders and other information to promote high-quality care."
Saint Luke's also has chosen Horizon Practice Plus™, McKesson's physician practice management solution, as its go-forward strategy to support administrative processes such as patient registration and scheduling and claims processing.
"Saint Luke's recognized the importance of an integrated electronic health record shared among healthcare providers and care settings," said Tom Leonard, senior vice president, Ambulatory Solutions, McKesson Provider Technologies. "Its selection of McKesson further validates our belief that integrated, proven applications that can be deployed incrementally will drive lasting adoption of EHRs by physicians. We look forward to being a part of this strategic initiative that is designed to benefit physicians, the health system and most important, patients in the surrounding community."
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