Christiana Care Announces Drive for Rapid Adoption of Electronic Health Records

WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In support of the federal government's implementation of "meaningful use" standards for health information technology, and to serve as a catalyst for improving health care delivery, Christiana Care Health System in Wilmington, Delaware today announced two major initiatives.

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In partnership with Quality Insights of Delaware, Christiana Care has developed and launched a pilot project for a core group of community-based, primary care physicians for rapid adoption of electronic health information technology. The initiative leverages Christiana Care's robust computerized provider order entry system and the nation's first statewide health information network.

A major regional teaching hospital, Christiana Care has also hardwired health information technology into the core curriculum for its July 2010 class of nearly 100 medical and dental residents and fellows.  Christiana Care will also provide ongoing education to approximately 1,500 community physicians to be meaningful users of medical informatics for safer and more effective care.

"This call to action to effectively use health information technology for improving quality and safety is a leadership moment for our country's hospitals and health systems," said Robert J. Laskowski, MD, president and CEO of Christiana Care.  "Hospitals and health systems can play an important role facilitating the rapid adoption of health information technology and the meaningful use standards."

About Christiana Care Health System

Christiana Care Health System, headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, is one of the country's largest health care providers, ranking 16th in the nation for hospital admissions. Christiana Care is a major teaching hospital with more than 240 Medical-Dental residents and fellows. A not-for-profit, non-sectarian health system, Christiana Care includes two hospitals with more than 1,100 patient beds, a home health care service, preventive medicine, rehabilitation services, a network of primary care physicians and an extensive range of outpatient services. With more than 10,000 employees, Christiana Care is the largest private employer in Delaware and the 10th largest employer in the Philadelphia region. In Fiscal Year 2010 Christiana Care had more than $2.03 billion in total patient revenue and provided the community with $55.7 million in free care and medicine. Find more information at www.christianacare.org.

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Robert Laskowski

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SOURCE Christiana Care Health System