Physician Practices Gain EHR Connectivity, Interoperability with New McKesson Offering
Practice Partner Connect enables continuity of care for physicians.
Atlanta, GA, February 3, 2010 — McKesson announced Practice Partner Connect™, providing an interoperability platform for physician practices to more securely exchange information with other practices, patients, hospitals, and payors. The new platform is part of Version 9.3.3 of Practice Partner®, McKesson’s award-winning electronic health record (EHR) and medical billing software solution for physician practices.
As office-based physicians focus on achieving the meaningful use and interoperability requirements in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), electronic communication of data is a key area of focus. Practice Partner Connect is designed to enable clinical and financial data exchange across care settings via any type of health information exchange (HIE). For example, a physician can electronically order lab tests and receive results directly through Practice Partner without leaving the application. In addition, the practice’s staff no longer has to manually enter claims information, resulting in improved productivity and more time for patient interaction.
“Physicians not only are responsible for patient wellness; they are increasingly the central coordination point in a broad health network that includes their patients as well as payors, pharmacies, labs and HIEs,” said David Henriksen, senior vice president of McKesson’s Physician Practice Solutions group. “Given that inherent complexity, McKesson has launched Practice Partner Connect as a means to simplify and streamline the necessary electronic communication for more collaborative, safer — and more efficient — healthcare.”
Communication through Practice Partner Connect offers enhanced security, with all activity recorded and accessible within the Practice Partner system. Providers maintain full control of their data, but can easily share critical information regarding the treatment of their patients, eligibility checking, billing and more. This increased visibility to a patient’s chart across care settings enhances patient safety and is a requirement for meeting “meaningful use” criteria under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
“We look forward to using the latest version of Practice Partner and believe it will help us increase the quality and efficiency of our patient interactions,” said Dr. A.J. Ronan of Lake Lansing Family Practice. “Practice Partner Connect will provide us with a more secure patient/provider messaging system and can help our practice meet requirements for meaningful use and Patient Centered Medical Home.”
Version 9.3.3 of Practice Partner also features Bright Note Technology, which instantly populates critical data on a patient chart. This dynamic processing technology enables physicians and other providers to use their preferred charting style to capture data in a single screen note and, with one touch, synchronize searchable data across a complete chart. The approach gives practices quick access to patient information, enabling physicians to focus their attention on patient interaction.
Practice Partner is part of McKesson’s comprehensive portfolio of physician solutions designed to reduce time spent on administrative tasks and help to meet the needs of running a modern practice. As the source for solutions that improve practice performance, McKesson’s offering includes clinical and EHR software as well as business management and revenue management solutions. The company also provides connectivity solutions for health information exchange and medical-surgical equipment and supplies.
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 www.mckesson.com.