FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 7, 2008
Contact: Scott Dunaway(512) 716-8241scott@dunawaypr.com
e-MDs Applauds Saline Memorial Hospital Community Health Information Exchange
Saline County based hospital moving the dial on improving public health for Arkansas.
AUSTIN, TX - e-MDs, an industry leader in the development and implementation of electronic health records (EHRs), applauds Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton, Arkansas for the successful establishment of a community health information exchange (CHIE). The innovative program is being operated through e-MDs award winning EHR, Solution Series TM, establishing a digital database of patient medical information for sharing within the hospital and ambulatory network.
The CHIE will greatly improve the quality of care for the patient. By providing a unified health information system accessible by hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and labs, providers in the community will have the ability to continually monitor the care of the patient. A single community record will also result in significant cost savings for both the patient and provider.
"Saline Memorial is leading by example in the national movement to modernize health care through technology and the implementation of electronic health records," stated Dr. Michael Stearns, President of e-MDs. "Saline County will take giant steps in enhancing the quality of care, inevitably cutting cost and saving valuable time often lost in paper records. Saline Memorial is changing the face of health care in Arkansas."
Up to 85% of the upfront cost of EHR implementation is being subsidized by Saline Memorial, while the remaining 15% and necessary hardware is the responsibility of the practice. The exchange currently has more than 25 offices with additional users expected to come online in the near future.
"As the size of our community health information exchange grows, the quality of health care in Saline County will follow," said Shawn Shuffield, Chief Information Officer at Saline Memorial Hospital. "Our community has a solid partner in this endeavor in e-MDs. With the significant challenges often discussed in the electronic health record industry, e-MDs offers the ease of use and flexibility to encourage adoption by all of our practices."
Saline Memorial Hospital (SMH) is a full-service, 167-bed facility that has served Saline County and beyond for more than 50 years as a comprehensive medical center offering a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, including but not limited to, cardiology, neurology, pediatric, orthopedic, otolaryngology, ophthalmology, psychiatric and wound care. The medical staff consists of more than 180 active and consulting physicians.
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e-MDs is a leading developer of healthcare software solutions headquartered in Austin, Texas. e-MDs Solution SeriesTM, is the standard for affordable and integrated EHR and PRACTICE MANAGEMENT software solutions, including clinical, financial and document management modules designed to automate medical practice processes and chart management. Designed by physicians to improve care, reduce errors and simplify business so that time spent with patients is time billed and coded properly. With e-MDs, medical practices can visit, code and bill with a single application. For more information, please visit http://www.e-mds.com/.
Robert Gleeman, Medical Journalist for EMR Update.com Email: robert@emrupdate.com Tel: 1-650-968-6359 Skype and ooVoo user name: robertgleeman EMR progress is a matter of fact. EMR Update supports your right to know.