NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII) and leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, today announced it has executed an agreement with Sinai Medical Group to deploy NextGen® EHR (Electronic Health Record) and NextGen Practice Management. Implementation of the integrated technology platform began in January 2010, with the first clinic expected to go live in August 2010.
“Having a resource that we can depend on now to help us get to meaningful use, and in the future as regulations evolve, was another important factor in our decision.”
"We are dedicated to making improvements in the quality of the care we deliver, so ensuring that we had a partner that could fully support our efforts was imperative," said Peter Ingram, VP, chief information officer for Sinai Health System. "Having a resource that we can depend on now to help us get to meaningful use, and in the future as regulations evolve, was another important factor in our decision."
Sinai Medical Group is a faculty group practice consisting of almost 200 physicians who provide a wide range of medical and surgical specialty care. It is a member of Chicago-based Sinai Health System, a national model for the delivery of urban healthcare. Because patients see different providers across Sinai Medical Group, the ability to support a range of specialties and to exchange data across the enterprise was also a necessity when evaluating partners.
"We offer a broad range of specialties and services to a diverse population, so we need vendors that can understand our complex clinical and business needs," added Ingram. "NextGen Healthcare's experience with organizations similar in size to ours and their long-standing reputation for being a leader in the industry were critical. Our physicians reviewed all of the competing vendors and agreed the NextGen technology was the easiest to use in documenting the care they provide."
NextGen EHR version 5.6, a CCHIT Certified® 2011 Ambulatory EHR, features pre-built clinical templates and workflow for more than 25 specialties to help ensure complete, accurate documentation stored in a standard format. The solution's disease management templates will enable Sinai providers to capture discrete data at the point of care, a crucial factor in meeting clinical reporting guidelines for pay-for-performance programs and in demonstrating "meaningful use" under the ARRA.
NextGen Practice Management will offer the reporting capabilities that can be leveraged to accurately track quality improvement measures - another key requirement to demonstrate "meaningful use." In addition, the solution's capability to bill across a full spectrum of specialties can help organizations like Sinai improve efficiency in scheduling, reporting and other critical practice functions throughout the health system.
"Sinai Health System is taking the initiative to align with an organization that will support their needs now and in the increasingly complex healthcare environment ahead," said Scott Decker, president of NextGen Healthcare. "We are committed to providing comprehensive technology that will continually evolve to meet the standards and certifications for federal stimulus reimbursement programs and look forward to a longstanding partnership with Sinai."
Other members of the Sinai Health System include Mount Sinai Hospital, a 291-staffed-bed teaching hospital that is a Level I Trauma Center and a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital, a 102-staffed-bed acute rehabilitation hospital; Sinai Urban Health Institute, a group of urban epidemiologists and community health workers who investigate health disparities and find ways to change them; and Sinai Community Institute, a provider of social support services serving the community.
For organizations seeking to take advantage of ARRA stimulus payments, NextGen Healthcare has also produced educational resources for providers and opened its Community Forum for discussion, questions and comments on the topic. The company provides a Money-Back Guarantee Program to assure the NextGen EHR solution will always evolve to meet the requirements for federal stimulus reimbursement programs.
Keck Hospital of USC receives ninth "A" Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group