Care Providers Share Clinical Information through Direct, Integrated Messaging
NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: QSII) and a leading provider of healthcare information systems and connectivity solutions, announced today it now is capable of successfully transmitting clinical care information between disparate technology platforms, thereby achieving vendor agnostic interoperability.
Arizona Community Surgeons, a Tucson-based multispecialty surgical group is using NextGen(R) technology to successfully exchange C-CDA (Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture) Summary of Care messages via direct secure transport with Tucson Medical Center, a 600-bed nonprofit community hospital utilizing an Electronic Health Record (EHR) from Epic. The interoperability leverages the Surescripts clinical network, a certified Health Information Service Provider (HISP).
The Surescripts clinical network enables clinical care information, including immunization summaries, CCDs, referrals, discharge summaries and lab results, to be transmitted between peers, practices and health systems locally and nationally across all technology platforms. The network supports all federal and state policies and standards for health information exchange, including privacy and security standards, technology interoperability standards and message type.
Through this level of interoperability, NextGen Healthcare clients can seamlessly communicate and share important clinical information via a secure and integrated messaging service with any provider on the Surescripts network, regardless of their health technology vendor.
Interoperability is required for success throughout many key areas of Meaningful Use Stage 2 (MU2), particularly MU2 Core Measure 15: Summary of Care. The exchange of Summary of Care documents requires clinical connectivity through a network platform whereby the more providers in the network, the more valuable it becomes to all of them.
“It is exciting to finally reach the point of exchanging records securely with an outside system,” said Connie Choza, CEO of Arizona Community Surgeons. “As a surgical group, we share patients with multiple hospitals on a daily basis. The ability to exchange vital information improves accuracy, efficiency and, ultimately, patient safety because there is less risk of data entry error.”
“As an organization with a Stage 7 [Electronic Medical Record] EMR, the most advanced level to date, we’re committed to leveraging health information technology to improve the quality of patient care. The ability to efficiently share patient information with our community partners is a major priority for us, and we’re excited about the opportunity to establish direct secure messaging with Arizona Community Surgeons. This is a critical step to elevating the interoperability of sophisticated EMR systems and improving both quality and safety on behalf of patients,” said Frank Marini, senior vice president and chief information officer for Tucson Medical Center.
“Our nationwide clinical network is growing to meet the interoperability needs of the entire health system as it moves from a volume- to a value-based approach to care,” said Paul Uhrig, acting chief executive officer of Surescripts. “The Surescripts network allows care providers to leverage their technology investment and strategically prepare for the future, by enabling clinicians to share information with community partners, and providing a clear path to meet regulatory requirements.”
“The ability to share health information electronically across care teams – regardless of technology platforms – is essential to addressing care and compliance mandates among rapidly evolving healthcare communities,” explained Michael Lovett, executive vice president and general manager for NextGen Healthcare. “Using Direct to generate, transmit, and receive messages levels the playing field for interoperability across vendors, and demonstrates that we are right there with the capability of offering our clients a more sophisticated approach to enhanced care, enabling them to connect with their community and participate fully in a collaborative environment.”
About Arizona Community Surgeons, PC
Arizona Community Surgeons, PC is a multispecialty surgical group serving Tucson and surrounding communities in Southern Arizona. With over 30 surgeons, Arizona Community Surgeons provides general, colorectal, breast, oncologic, endocrine, thoracic, bariatric, orthopedic, plastic and reconstructive surgical services. For more information, visit http://acssurgeons.com/.
About Tucson Medical Center
Tucson Medical Center, licensed at more than 600 beds, has been Tucson’s nonprofit community hospital for 70 years. In addition to serving as a regional resource for emergency and pediatric care (including Tucson’s first Pediatric Emergency Department), TMC offers top-notch intensive care units for adults, children and newborns. New operating rooms provide the latest technology for a full range of surgical procedures. Specialty areas include women’s, maternity, cardiac, orthopaedic, neuroscience, imaging and senior services.
About Surescripts
Surescripts operates a national clinical network that connects pharmacies, payers, pharmacy benefit managers, physicians, hospitals, integrated delivery networks, health information exchanges and health technology firms to enable the efficient and secure exchange of health information. Guided by the principles of neutrality, transparency, physician and patient choice, open standards, collaboration and privacy, Surescripts provides information for routine, recurring and emergency care. Together with our network participants, Surescripts is committed to saving lives, improving efficiency and reducing the cost of health care for all. For more information, go to www.surescripts.com and follow us at twitter.com/surescripts.
About NextGen Healthcare
NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quality Systems, Inc., provides integrated clinical, connectivity and financial solutions, including revenue cycle management services for ambulatory, inpatient and dental provider organizations. For more information, please visit www.nextgen.com and www.qsii.com. Follow NextGen Healthcare on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nextgen, Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NextGenHealthcare or LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/company/nextgen-healthcare-information-systems.
Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including but not limited to those statements made by Michael Lovett related to interoperability, future collaboration with Surescripts, future collaboration with Epic, the Company’s future products and offerings, and developments and trends in the healthcare industry. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the Company’s expectations and projections. Factors that could cause the anticipated results to differ from those described in the forward-looking statements include the possibility that the products of Cerner or the Company will not achieve or sustain market acceptance; the impact of incentive payments under The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on sales and the ability of the Company to meet continued certification requirements; the development by competitors of new or superior technologies; the timing, cost and success or failure of new product and service introductions, development and product upgrade releases; undetected errors or bugs in our software; changing economic, political or regulatory influences in the healthcare industry; availability of third-party products and components; competitive pressures including product offerings, pricing and promotional activities; the Company’s ability or inability to attract and retain qualified personnel; possible regulation of the Company’s software by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and general economic conditions. Additional risks and uncertainties are set forth in the Company’s public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the discussion under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law.
(c) 2014 Quality Systems, Inc., Irvine, CA 92612
(R) marks owned by Quality Systems, Inc.
CONTACT: NextGen Healthcare
Michelle Rovner, 215-657-7010
mrovner@nextgen.com
