e-MDs Physician Recognized as Leader in Implementation of Electronic Health Records

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- e-MDs, the provider of the nation's most highly rated EHR, congratulates Christopher Wenner, MD, for being recognized on Monday, December 5, 2011, by Minnesota's Regional Extension Center for Health Information Technology (REC) for his leadership in the nationwide transition toward electronic health records. Dr. Wenner is one of the first providers in Minnesota to attest to Meaningful Use for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program.  He worked with REACH, the REC designated by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to assist clinicians in Minnesota and North Dakota in becoming meaningful users of electronic health records.  e-MDs is pleased to congratulate Dr. Wenner on becoming a member of an exclusive group of leaders – the Meaningful Use Vanguard (MUV). MUV is an initiative of ONC, designed to honor, thank, and bring together clinicians like Dr. Wenner, who have successfully implemented EHRs. MUVers (members of the MUV program) serve as local leaders and advisors in the nation's transition toward an electronically-enabled health care system.  Dr. Wenner is one of many e-MDs clients in every region of the country who have become MUVers.

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Dr. Wenner operates a comprehensive family medicine clinic in Cold Spring, Minnesota that is certified as a medical home, and facilitates partnerships between individual patients, healthcare providers, and when appropriate, members of the patient's family.  "e-MDs is pleased to congratulate Dr. Wenner on being recognized for his ability to use health information technology in a manner that benefits the care he is providing to his patients," said Michael Stearns, MD, CPC, President and CEO of e-MDs.  "We are seeing a promising relationship develop between the advanced use of our EHR, Meaningful Use, and the Patient Centered Medical Home; an encouraging trend that will improve care while rewarding physicians for the quality of care they provide."   

Dr. Wenner will receive one of the first incentive payments in Minnesota made under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments are available to eligible professionals and hospitals when they adopt, implement, upgrade, or demonstrate Meaningful Use of a certified electronic health record.

Dr. Wenner intends to use his e-MDs EHR to continue to improve patient care by utilizing reminders for preventative screening and immunizations, as well as registry features to aid in chronic disease management. The Meaningful Use and medical home requisites go hand in hand to facilitate better patient care. "I can access my records from anywhere—I don't have to be in the office," Wenner explained the benefits of his EHR. "I'm able to allow my patients access to their medical records via my portal. I'm able to email after-visit summaries. e-MDs made it possible, almost easy."

Small practices like Dr. Wenner's are challenged by not having on-site technical support and having to understand all aspects of the meaningful use rule. "I really valued the help that REACH gave to me. It would have been much more challenging for me to do this by myself," Wenner said.

For more information on CMS incentive programs, please visit www.cms.gov.

To learn more about e-MDs, please visit www.e-MDs.com.

Media Contact:
Kailey Lord, (512) 716-8243, [email protected]

About e-MDs
e-MDs is a leading developer of integrated electronic health records and practice management software for physician practices and enterprises.  Founded and actively managed by physicians, the company is an industry leader for usable, connected software that enables physician productivity and clinical excellence.  e-MDs software has received continual top rankings in physician and industry surveys including those conducted by the American Academy of Family Physicians and KLAS.  For more information, please visit www.e-mds.com, http://www.facebook.e-mds.com, and twitter.com/emds. 

SOURCE e-MDs