BELLEVUE, Wash., and BURLINGTON, Vt., May 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PeaceHealth, a long-time IDX(R) LastWord(R) customer, today announced it will upgrade to the next-generation IDX(R) Carecast(TM) enterprise system from IDX Systems Corporation . Carecast will enable the organization to further advance its electronic community health record (CHR), which supports the care of 1.4 million people across three states. Accessed by 16,000 employees and affiliated physicians, PeaceHealth’s community health record (CHR) spans six acute care hospitals as well as multiple physician clinics in Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Using Carecast, the organization plans to expand use of computerized physician order entry (CPOE), further advance online clinical documentation, and introduce a fully image-enabled electronic patient record in conjunction with IDX(R) Imagecast(TM) technology. PeaceHealth’s upgrade to Carecast was signed in Q1 2005.
“A CHR program of our size and scope demands the most fail-safe technology platform possible, comprehensive functionality, and a true partnership with our vendor,” said John Haughom, MD, Senior Vice President of Healthcare Improvement at PeaceHealth. “Our ten-year working relationship with IDX has been distinguished by all three of these important qualities. Strong clinician satisfaction with IDX technology’s usability, reliability and consistent response time were key factors in our decision to upgrade from LastWord to Carecast. Now, our clinicians are looking forward to using Carecast’s expanded array of capabilities for enterprise orders, clinical documentation and diagnostic image management.”
Using IDX clinical information technology, PeaceHealth has attained new levels of quality care, provider satisfaction and operational efficiency. PeaceHealth’s electronic patient record system is used across ambulatory and inpatient environments, and is accessed by the organization’s 330 employed physicians as well as independent group practices. Repeated physician surveys have indicated a high level of satisfaction with the CHR project. By accessing the organization-wide electronic patient record system, clinicians can view a patient’s medical history, regardless of what facility the patient visits. Physicians can also remotely review the progress of their hospitalized patients, which allows providers greater flexibility to discharge patients.
Through IDX(R) Patient Online(R) PeaceHealth and IDX are rolling out a Web-based patient portal that provides patients with secure, convenient online access and self-service tools for scheduling appointments, paying bills, accessing clinical information direct from their EMR, communicating with their providers, and other capabilities. In addition, patients can take advantage of the new eVisit solution which supports reimbursement to providers who conduct clinical care online.
Building on its CHR, and supported by a “Pursuing Perfection” grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, PeaceHealth also has developed sophisticated disease management programs for diabetes and congestive heart failure. LastWord enabled the creation of a clinical data repository that allows PeaceHealth to mine patient data in order to identify patients who would benefit most from these programs. For example, using a few key strokes, PeaceHealth physicians can view such key health indicators as average cholesterol levels for their diabetic patients - allowing them a much clearer view of the progress of patients with chronic conditions. Since implementing the diabetes program in 1998, adherence to guidelines for diabetic care has tripled among patients in two of PeaceHealth’s facilities.
With Carecast, PeaceHealth will move forward with CPOE capabilities across its outpatient and inpatient environments, building on its success with medication safety initiatives. Research conducted by PeaceHealth has shown that documentation of patient allergies -- a key measure in preventing adverse drug events -- is near 100 percent in PeaceHealth hospitals. In addition, the organization’s widespread use of electronic prescribing in the ambulatory environment -- approaching two million electronic prescriptions this year -- supports medication error prevention. PeaceHealth’s Barger Clinic in Eugene, Ore. documented an 83 percent drop in potential adverse drug events after going live on IDX electronic prescribing.
PeaceHealth is also notable for its leadership in the area of online clinical documentation. Nationwide, nurses spend an average of 30 percent of their time documenting patient care -- and many nurses still must document care on paper in handwritten patient charts. By using IDX online documentation capabilities, PeaceHealth has been able to reduce nursing documentation time to nearly half of the national average, providing nurses with more time for patient care. PeaceHealth clinicians use online documentation to electronically capture electronically capture assessment data, medication administration, clinical findings, care plans, interventions and other activities.
During the Carecast implementation, PeaceHealth will focus on developing care planning and documentation tools to support interdisciplinary care. With the system, nurses and all other caregivers will leverage expanded Carecast Patient Summary View capabilities, giving the entire care team the information they need to develop and monitor effective interdisciplinary care plans at the point of care. PeaceHealth’s commitment to comprehensive electronic patient information is also supported by use of Imagecast, which provides electronic access to diagnostic images -- such as X-rays and mammograms -- as well as accompanying physicians’ notes
PeaceHealth’s technology investment has made a positive impact on the organization’s bottom line while enhancing the quality of its care. The organization has realized more efficient administrative and billing processes by deploying LastWord’s fully integrated patient accounting capabilities and by using IDX(R) Flowcast(TM) in the group practice environment. Through its commitment to both automation and process improvement, PeaceHealth has reduced average hospital A/R days from 64 to 46 and documented savings of approximately $35 million, based on research the organization conducted over a two-year period.
“Given the national interest in Regional Health Information Organizations or (RHIOs), PeaceHealth’s achievements demonstrate the power of electronic patient records to improve the cost and quality of patient care across entire regions,” said Mike Raymer, Senior Vice President and General Manager, IDX Carecast Operating Unit. “From their CHR to their disease management initiatives, the PeaceHealth team is constantly pushing the bounds of using clinical IT to improve patient care, and we look forward to supporting them in these initiatives far into the future.”
About IDX(R) Carecast(TM)
Carecast is a fully integrated clinical, financial and administrative system, combining core clinical processes for orders, results, pharmacy and clinical documentation with administrative and financial processes for scheduling, registration, admitting, charging and billing. Representing the next generation of electronic clinical information solutions, Carecast delivers unsurpassed response time and reliability to support fast-paced clinical environments. The system automates workflow throughout the healthcare enterprise and enables rapid access to patient records across the care continuum, from admission to discharge, including inpatient and ambulatory
care. The result is a comprehensive lifetime patient record that enhances the quality of care and promotes operational efficiencies.
Developed by and for providers -- in collaboration with leading hospitals, clinicians and healthcare executives -- Carecast builds on 25 years of innovation with the IDX LastWord(R) enterprise system. Customers include leading healthcare organizations in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
About IDX
Founded in 1969, IDX Systems Corporation provides information technology solutions to maximize value in the delivery of healthcare, improve the quality of patient service, enhance medical outcomes, and reduce the costs of care. Our systems are deployed to serve approximately 150,000 physicians and are installed at over 3,400 customer sites, including more than 850 group practices and approximately 370 integrated delivery networks servicing more than 500 hospitals.
IDX also provides its enterprise clinical software as a subcontractor to BT and Fujitsu Services, Local Service Providers for the United Kingdom National Health Service’s National Programme for Information Technology, an initiative to establish electronic patient records for 50 million patients. The IDX web strategy includes browser technology, e-commerce and web-based tools -- built using Internet architecture -- that facilitates access for patients, physicians and care providers to vital health information and data managed by the IDX clinical, administrative, financial, and managed care products. IDX has approximately 2,400 full-time employees.
IDX, Carecast, Flowcast, Imagecast and LastWord are registered trademarks or trademarks of IDX Investment Corporation.
This press release contains forward-looking statements about IDX Systems Corporation that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are uncertainties or difficulties in developing new services, including Carecast, possible failure of IDX to realize the benefits of developing clinical guidelines, difficulties in implementing systems, possible deferral, delay or cancellation by customers of computer system or service purchase decisions, possible delay of system installations and service implementations, development by competitors of new or superior technologies, changing economic, political and regulatory influences on the healthcare and e-Commerce industries, possible disruptions in the national economy caused by terrorist activities and foreign conflicts, changes in product pricing policies, governmental regulation of IDX’s software and operations, the possibility of product-related liabilities, and factors detailed from time to time in IDX’s periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which important factors are incorporated herein by reference. IDX undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or changes in future operating results, financial condition or business over time.
For more information contact: Catherine Sweeney Media Relations - IDX Carecast IDX Systems Corporation 206.607.5462 catherine_sweeney@idx.com Shelly F. Cohen Firmani and Associates 206.443.9357 shelly@firmani.com
IDX Systems Corporation
CONTACT: Catherine Sweeney, Media Relations IDX Carecast of IDX SystemsCorporation, +1-206-607-5462, catherine_sweeney@idx.com; or Shelly F. Cohen ofFirmani and Associates, +1-206-443-9357, shelly@firmani.com
Web site: http://www.idx.com/