Hospital Sisters Health System Selects Allscripts Electronic Health Record and Practice Management for Employed and Affiliated Physicians in Illinois and Wisconsin

CHICAGO and SPRINGFIELD, Ill., March 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX) announced today that Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) has selected the Allscripts Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Practice Management solution to automate and connect clinical and business functions for their 130 employed physicians and the more than 3,300 independent physicians affiliated with the health system's 13 hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin.  

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Based in Springfield, Ill., HSHS includes more than 14,000 staff, $3.3 billion in assets and recorded $1.7 billion in operating revenue during fiscal 2009. Sponsored by the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, HSHS saw more than 128,000 inpatient admissions and more than 317,000 emergency department visits during the last year.  The Allscripts solutions will support HSHS's strategy of developing "care integration" partnerships with physician practices in Illinois and Wisconsin – enabling physicians and other caregivers to spend less time on systems and infrastructure, and more time providing life-sustaining care.

"At HSHS, our vision is to bring together elements of today's fragmented health care delivery system, provide superior value to patients and promote efficiency – and our partnership with Allscripts is a critical part of that strategy," said Stephanie S. McCutcheon, President and Chief Executive Officer of HSHS. "Starting with HSHS Medical Group and then expanding to our affiliated physicians, Allscripts will help us practice better medicine and more efficient care, as well as helping to drive the collaborative delivery models we're developing by giving physicians the tools and infrastructure they need."

Allscripts will implement the integrated Electronic Health Record and Practice Management solution first for the 130 physicians of HSHS Medical Group, who are directly employed by HSHS.  The health system plans soon to offer to host the Allscripts solution for non-employed affiliated physicians, providing them an affordable means of accessing the clinical and back-office solution over the Internet, without the upfront costs of purchasing new equipment to host it themselves.

Additionally, HSHS is creating a Central Business Office (CBO) to handle billing and claims for its employed physicians and as an option for affiliated physicians. Participating independent physician practices would be able to outsource to HSHS their most time-intensive back-office functions while maintaining access to all information via their Allscripts Practice Management system.  As part of the CBO, HSHS plans to offer Allscripts Revenue Cycle Management, which combines billing and scheduling with integrated claims, remittance and eligibility capabilities in a single package. The solution is used by thousands of physician groups across the U.S. to process more than 260 million claims annually and 500 million revenue cycle management transactions.

"Hospital Sisters has developed a unique strategy for building a truly integrated healthcare network, and Allscripts is proud to have been selected to help deliver on that vision by not only automating their employed physicians but connecting to the communities in which they provide services, offering full electronic health records as well as practice management," said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts. "By partnering with Allscripts, Hospital Sisters is encouraging more widespread and rapid adoption of technologies that will ultimately lead to higher quality, more effective patient communications, and better management of the cost of care delivery."

According to HSHS Chief Operating Officer Larry Schumacher, HSHS selected Allscripts following an exhaustive review of other products on the market.  Its decision was influenced by the success of Springfield Clinic, the largest multi-specialty group practice in Springfield, which has utilized the Allscripts Electronic Health Record since 2006 to enhance the quality of care it delivers, generating a $4.5 million return on investment in the first year alone.

"We knew Allscripts was the right choice for HSHS based not only on Springfield Clinic's success with the EHR but also on the company's reputation for client service, their market-leading position, and their commitment to making the technology ever more powerful yet easier for physicians to use," said Schumacher.  

HSHS will ensure the exchange of relevant information between the Allscripts solutions and HSHS's Meditech inpatient clinical systems, providing physicians inside and outside the hospital with access to patient information including lab orders and results, medication history, allergies, problem lists, and hospital discharge summaries.

About Hospital Sisters Health System

Hospital Sisters Health System is a Roman Catholic health care mission founded to continue the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Sponsored by the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, HSHS provides state-of-the-art health care framed in traditional values taught by St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi. It is dedicated to serving all people, including the poor and the needy, at each of its 13 Local Systems in Illinois - Belleville, Breese, Decatur, Effingham, Highland, Litchfield, Springfield and Streator and in Wisconsin - Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, Sheboygan and two in Green Bay. For more information about HSHS, visit www.hshs.org

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 trade name of Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. To learn more, visit www.allscripts.com.

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SOURCE Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc.