FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 25, 2011
ABEL Pleased to Announce Sponsorship of Brand New Medical Economics Study
Tracking Primary Care EHR Rollouts in Real Time
Two-Year Independent Research Project Will Capture and Share Best Practices
Primary care physicians (PCPs) can read the handwriting on the screen.
Their trusted paper charts are going the way of the house call. Electronic health records (EHRs) are the future of primary care. And like it or not, the future officially arrives in 2015. That’s when PCPs face cuts in Medicare Part B payments if they fail to integrate EHRs into their practices.
While not all PCPs are sold on the merits of this technology, federal carrot-and-stick financial incentives are prompting even the most skeptical providers to make the investment. But selecting the right EHR from more than 500 different systems on the market can be complex, expensive, and time-consuming.
Providers in Search of AnswersPCPs have no shortage of EHR questions on their minds:
- Which system is the best for my practice?
- How long will it take to implement it and train my office staff?
- What will it cost?
- Will it help me achieve ‘meaningful use’?
- How will I get my e-prescribing and PQRS incentives?
- How will it affect my productivity?
Where can PCPs turn for answers? Working with local regional extension centers (RECs) is one possibility—if one is available in your area. However, most PCPs in America are located outside of REC regions and can’t take advantage of their services. Many of these physicians have delayed implementing an EHR altogether.
That’s why ABEL Medical Software has partnered with Medical Economics—the profession’s number one resource for primary care physicians and their practices—to launch The Medical Economics EHR Study, a unique, peer-to-peer exchange of best practices focusing entirely on the EHR user experience.
Beginning in 2012, ABEL will join ten well-known EHR vendors in providing 44 representative primary care practices from across the U.S. with fully functional EHRs to test and use for two years. The PCPs receive installation, training and support necessary for them to adopt the technology into their practices—and to attest to meaningful use—free of charge.
In exchange, these physicians have agreed to provide metrics and feedback about their experiences, which Medical Economics will share with its audience of more than 175,000 PCPs—in print and online—to help them benchmark their own EHR experiences, and to learn from their peers.
The Most Comprehensive EHR Study of its Kind"The purpose of the EHR study is to take a representative sample of EHRs—some server-based, some Web-based, and some stand-alone—and sort out all their details for you," says George G. Ellis Jr., MD, FACP, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), and a founding member of the EHR Study Group. "Our goal is to help take the guesswork out of buying/leasing an EHR."
Dr. Ellis has more than 20 years experience using EHRs and practice management software.
"My biggest dilemma is the lack of support," he says. "As physicians, if we buy an EKG machine or laboratory equipment, we have an opportunity to try the equipment for three or four weeks to see if it’s what we want or need. In contrast, when purchasing an EHR, in-house demos aren’t really a possibility."
A Visionary Approach to EHR AdoptionSalvatore Volpe, MD, a Staten Island-based primary care physician and HIMSS New York Chapter President, is part of the advisory group that conceived The Medical Economics EHR Study.
For many practices—despite information in medical journals and magazines such as Medical Economics, despite webinars and medical society presentations—there’s still uncertainty about what it takes to implement an EHR, how it will affect a practice, how it impacts a physician’s quality-of-life, and how it changes interactions with patients, Volpe explains.
"The information we’re going to provide through this study will permit doctors and their practices, their business and office managers, and their spouses, to make informed decisions on whether it makes sense to implement an EHR now or later," he says.
Given the requirement under the new healthcare law for practices to implement EHRs or suffer financial penalties—including losing the ability to bill Medicare and Medicaid—electing not to install an EHR is not an option for most practices.
EHR Vendors joining ABEL in The Medical Economics EHR Study- Amazing Charts (www.amazingcharts.com)
- Aprima (www.aprima.com)
- athenahealth (www.athenahealth.com)
- CureMD (www.curemd.com)
- GE Healthcare (www.gehealthcare.com)
- McKesson Physician Practice Group (www.mckesson.com)
- MedNet System (www.emr4md.com)
- NextGen Healthcare (www.nextgen.com)
- Practice Fusion (www.practicefusion.com)
- Sage Healthcare (www.sagehealth.com)
Medical Economics, published by Advanstar Medical Communications Group, is the leading business resource for office based physicians, providing the expert advice and shared experiences doctors need to successfully meet today’s challenges in practice management, patient relations, malpractice, electronics health records, career, and personal finance. Medical Economics provides the nonclinical education doctors don’t get in medical school.
About ABEL Medical SoftwareA leading provider of innovative EMR and practice management solutions for physicians, ABEL Medical Software Inc. (www.abelmedicalsoftware.com) is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and uses the latest Microsoft .NET technologies. In addition to ABELMed EHR-EMR/PM software, ABEL offers a complete range of services including on-site / on-line training, 24/7/365 telephone support, patient and practitioner portals and more.
About AdvanstarAdvanstar Communications Inc. (www.advanstar.com) is a leading worldwide media company providing integrated marketing solutions for the Automotive, Dental, Fashion, Healthcare, Licensing, Pharmaceutical, Powersports & Veterinary industries. Advanstar serves business professionals and consumers in these industries with its portfolio of 143 events, 54 publications and directories, 253 electronic products and Web sites, as well as educational and direct marketing products and services. Market leading brands—and a commitment to delivering innovative, quality products and services —enables Advanstar to "Connect Our Customers with Theirs." Advanstar has approximately 600 employees and currently operates from multiple offices in North America and Europe.
###
SOURCE: ADVANSTAR COMMUNICATIONS INC. Republished with permission.
YouTube
Blogger
Twitter