Pharmacy News EU

Dedicated to keeping area physicians ahead of the curve, Marquette General Health System (MGHS) will work with McKesson to deploy electronic health record (EHR) technology designed to help improve patient care throughout Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The region’s only tertiary care provider plans to use McKesson’s Practice Partner EHR, which integrates with the McKesson Paragon hospital information system (HIS) currently supporting Marquette General Hospital and its 30 owned physician practices.
Beginning this spring, 140 MGHS-employed physicians, practitioners and therapists will become licensed users of Practice Partner. They will be authorized to access and update patient records electronically within the new, centralized system based at Marquette General Hospital. Dozens of independent affiliate practices also are expected to adopt the solution, as part of an overall plan to improve patient safety by eliminating paper-based documentation. By putting EHRs in place, office-based physicians also may qualify for incentives offered through the federal government’s economic stimulus plan.
"McKesson provides the tools and the smooth integration path we need to move Marquette General and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula region into the 21st century of patient care," explained Dave Graser, senior vice president and chief operating officer for MGHS. "Practice Partner is enabling us to build on our Paragon HIS investment with a user-friendly EHR solution that our physicians prefer and trust."
Marquette physician practices will have up-to-the-minute patient information at their fingertips. Inpatient and outpatient records, complete with detailed exam notes, will be available on demand wherever a patient shows up for an appointment in the system. Using Bright Note Technology?, featured in the Practice Partner EHR, area physicians will be able to capture patient data in a single note and automatically synchronize the information throughout the patient chart.
"McKesson has a clear understanding of the legislative and stimulus processes as well as the financial strength to fuel the R&D that helps providers like us experience long-term success," said Graser, citing some of the key reasons behind the McKesson selection. "In the end, this agreement is all about doing the right thing by providing our patients with unprecedented continuity of care throughout Upper Michigan."
"McKesson’s hospital and physician practice solutions offer a winning combination for Marquette General and a growing number of healthcare providers across the country," explained David Henriksen, senior vice president and general manager of Physician Practice Solutions for McKesson. "Anywhere, anytime access to complete patient health records will open the door to a whole new level of productivity and patient care for the people of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula."
Paragon recently achieved the "Best in KLAS" ranking for Community HIS in the 2009 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Professional Services report for the fourth consecutive year.1 The Practice Partner solution is part of McKesson’s full suite of productivity solutions designed to help physicians improve patient care. McKesson’s offerings include clinical and EHR software as well as business management and revenue management systems. The company also provides connectivity platforms for health information exchange, as well as medical-surgical equipment and supplies. About Marquette General Health System Marquette General Health System is the regional medical center for all of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and beyond. Marquette General is the region’s Level II Trauma Center, has been named by Thomson Healthcare as a 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospital four consecutive years, and has earned the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission for Primary Stroke Centers. As a 315-bed specialty care hospital, Marquette General provides care in 65 specialties and subspecialties with a medical staff of more than 200 physicians and surgeons which work as a team with 2,400 employees in caring for approximately 12,000 inpatients and more than 350,000 outpatients a year. About McKesson McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 15th 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. McKesson has been in continuous operation for more than 175 years, making it the longest-operating company in healthcare today. Over the course of its 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, visit http://www.mckesson.com. 1 2009 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Professional Services report; December 2009, www.KLASresearch.com, 2009 KLAS Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved.
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