Forerun Collaborates with EMP to Deliver Breakthrough Physician Documentation in Emergency Department
Waltham, MA, May 4, 2010—Forerun, Inc., announced a collaboration agreement with Emergency Medicine Physicians (EMP) Ltd. to develop a physician-focused documentation system for emergency departments (EDs) nationwide that are staffed by physicians of EMP and Emergency Physicians Medical Group (EPMG).
Forerun is a clinically-focused healthcare IT company that builds and hosts custom designed solutions to improve the patient experience, quality of care and economics of emergency care for hospitals. EMP is a leading provider of emergency medical services for healthcare organizations throughout the U.S.
Improved Patient Satisfaction, Physician Productivity
Healthcare industry experts have long been aware that ED physicians strongly resist, and often refuse to move to electronic charting. In a recent survey of healthcare organizations in New England, for example, physicians in more than 70 percent of the hospital EDs use either paper charting or dictation/transcription.
“In general, the documentation solutions provided by enterprise hospital information systems require the physician to enter data via multiple rigidly structured templates. In effect, the physician is forced to go from a highly efficient process—that of dictating comments and notes for transcription—to one that significantly increases the time required for documentation,” said Christopher Corbit, MD and Chief Medical Informatics Officer (CMIO) at EMP. “In addition, the time required for most automated documentation takes the physician away from bedside care. As a result, quality of care and patient satisfaction is negatively affected.”
“In contrast, Forerun ED™ Physician Charting is a next-generation EHR that allows for the real time completion of a clinically rich electronic chart during the care process and as part of physician’s natural workflow,” explained Ken Wolfe, Forerun CEO. “By harnessing the powers of Web-based technology, aggregating and pushing critical clinical data and embedding cognitive aides, we help the ED physician deliver and document the right amount of care in a time efficient manner, thereby improving patient satisfaction, operational efficiency and safety in the ED,” he said.
Partnering for Success
“After reviewing charting systems offered by multiple vendors, it was clear that Forerun provides the best solution for a successful collaboration,” said Corbit. “Their approach to electronic charting positions them as thought leaders in ED automation and they provide the experience, expertise and clinician-focused orientation that are needed to make this initiative successful. Another driver behind our partnership is the fact that Forerun software is Web-based,” he continued. “That eliminates any need to create a client application that must be separately installed. Finally, Forerun software is built on a very robust IT infrastructure…a definite requirement in the 24×7 high-availability ED environment.”
The customized Forerun charting software is scheduled for implementation in the near future. “We are currently in talks with the hospitals that EMP staffs to beta test the new charting solution,” said Corbit. Once testing is complete, the software will be installed in those hospitals following the development of interfaces to the provider organizations’ hospital information system. “This initiative will help ensure that EMP physicians will deliver the highest level of emergency medicine possible with the efficiency and compassion that patients deserve,” Corbit concluded.
About Forerun
Forerun, Inc. is the leading innovator in real-time workflow management solutions for the hospital emergency department. Forerun ED™ was developed by physicians, for physicians, to enable emergency department caregivers to accelerate the delivery of patient services during the busiest of times, while enhancing patient safety and the quality of care. Core functionality includes electronic physician documentation, global departmental management, clinical patient management, discharge processing and medication reconciliation, and quality and business intelligence reporting. Founders include leading emergency medicine practitioners and IT experts associated with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. Forerun is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Visit http://www.forerunsystems.com for additional information.
About EMP Management Group, Ltd.
Established in 1992, Emergency Medicine Physicians (EMP) is a leading provider of emergency medical services. EMP Management Group provides management and billing services to both EMP Medical Group of Canton Ohio and EPMG of Roseville California. The EMP and EPMG Medical Groups treat over 2.5 million emergency medicine patients per year and currently staffs 56 locations in 12 states. For additional information, go to www.emp.com and www.epmg.com.