Dallas Nephrology Associates Selects Allscripts Electronic Health Record and Practice Management for 70 Physicians

ATLANTA, March 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- From the floor of the HIMSS10 Conference & Exhibition, Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX) announced today that Dallas Nephrology Associates (DNA) has selected the Allscripts Electronic Health Record  (EHR) and Practice Management solution to enhance the quality of patient care, improve patient communications, and better manage the cost of care delivery in its locations across the Dallas Metropolitan area. 

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Dallas Nephrology Associates is one of the nation's largest groups of practicing nephrologists with approximately 70 physicians at 13 offices throughout the Dallas metropolitan area.  Dallas Nephrology Associates offers expert care for patients with a wide variety of renal disorders including primary hypertension, renal vascular hypertension, nephrotic syndrome, diabetic nephropathy, polycystic kidney disease, kidney stones, glomerulonephritis and transplant medicine; and provides care to patients on dialysis including vascular access care at two specialized centers.  DNA physicians have active practices in most of the major Dallas hospitals, and several are current or past directors of nephrology departments of these hospitals.  Many DNA physicians are also involved in local training programs for residents and fellows. Dallas Transplant Institute, developed and staffed by DNA, is one of the largest, most sophisticated outpatient transplant programs with over 2,000 transplanted patients, a large pre-transplant department, and its own Medicare approved lab.

Allscripts will replace DNA's existing Electronic Health Record and Practice Management system. A critical factor in DNA's selection of Allscripts was the company's ability to improve upon its existing IT systems' unique nephrology-specific information and procedures and the ability to customize certain specialty specific workflows which DNA developed over nearly 30 years.

"We had some anxiety about changing our EHR and practice management system, simply because we have worked hard to fine-tune the systems to work with the unique nature of a nephrology practice, and no other systems on the market seemed able to match the functionality we developed," said Linda Rivera, IT Director for DNA.  "It turns out Allscripts not only is ahead in the technology itself but has the experience and skills necessary to ensure our IT systems are fine-tuned for nephrologists and that they continue to support our providers in delivering high quality patient care."

Another key factor in DNA's selection of Allscripts was the company's "long experience in streamlining the transition from first-generation IT systems to their 21st-century technology," said Linda Rivera of DNA.  "The electronic health record is a critical initiative for our organization and we were confident in Allscripts ability to seamlessly convert clinical data from our old systems, including appointments, lab results, problems, allergies, documents, scanned images and all other vital patient data, without requiring us to devote endless hours to hand-enter or scan the information."

To providing services that are increasingly popular with patients while also helping to save time, lower costs and increase revenue, DNA will deploy the Allscripts Patient Portal. The Patient Portal is integrated with the Allscripts Electronic Health Record and Practice Management solution, giving DNA's patients one sign-on to reach a complete source for any of their clinical or administrative needs. Patients will be able to make appointment requests, renew prescriptions, view test results and conduct other common tasks on-line, including HIPAA-compliant secure messaging with their care team.  

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is expected to require physicians to provide electronic patient-to-provider communications as a condition of qualifying for Electronic Health Record incentive payments authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.  Using Allscripts, DNA's physicians will be prepared to qualify for the maximum ARRA incentive payment beginning in 2011.

"DNA has distinguished itself as one of the nation's top nephrology practices by focusing on both quality care and service, as well as what will be required to deliver even better coordinated care in the future," said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts. "We're pleased that they have selected Allscripts as their partner to replace their existing system and add innovations like the Allscripts Patient Portal, which meets patient's needs for convenience while reducing practice operating costs."

The Allscripts Electronic Health Record automates clinical workflow and gives physicians immediate access to critical data from hospitals, labs, pharmacies, payers and patients.  Healthcare providers can access the Electronic Health Record at any time, whether they are in the clinic, at the hospital or on-call at home. By automatically tracking key patient metrics and providing automated decision support, the web-based solution helps physicians evaluate and improve their practices and enables them to deliver more effective disease management, preventive care, and long-range health maintenance.

Allscripts Practice Management combines sophisticated scheduling and Revenue Cycle Management tools to help physician practices become more efficient and more productive while improving service to patients.  

About Dallas Nephrology Associates

Dallas Nephrology Associates (DNA) is one of the nation's largest groups of practicing Nephrologists. Since 1971, it has enjoyed the trust of its patients throughout the Dallas Metropolitan area.  DNA is a professional medical association consisting of physicians and other vital support staff including nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, laboratory and X-ray technologists, dietitians, social workers, technicians and research staff.  To learn more, visit www.dneph.com

About Allscripts

Allscripts uses innovation technology to bring health to healthcare. More than 160,000 physicians, 800 hospitals and nearly 8,000 post-acute and homecare organizations utilize Allscripts to improve the health of their patients and their bottom line.  The company's award-winning solutions include electronic health records, electronic prescribing, revenue cycle management, practice management, document management, care management, emergency department information systems and homecare automation. Allscripts is the brand name of Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. To learn more, visit www.allscripts.com.

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SOURCE Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc.