iKnowMed™ Integrates with Lynx Mobile® to Advance a Comprehensive Chemotherapy Management System

THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- iKnowMed Electronic Health Record System (EHR) and Lynx Mobile drug inventory management system, both products of McKesson Specialty Health Solutions for Oncology, are now integrated, allowing oncology practices to have a single comprehensive chemotherapy orders workflow management system. Oncologists with both products can order a drug in iKnowMed which now automatically communicates with Lynx Mobile. This way, when a patient arrives for an appointment, the drug is already in the inventory management system, ready to be pulled and tracked.

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"Having these capabilities is outstanding for our practice. It has saved my practice and my patients time and has helped with accuracy," said Naren Kapadia, M.D., an oncologist with Oncology Hematology Associates of Northern Illinois. "Before, our nurse manager used to spend most of her time checking and correcting charges manually. Now she doesn't have to do that, so she's back on the floor giving chemotherapy. It's almost like we have a full time employee available for patient care that we had not had. iKnowMed and Lynx Mobile are easy applications, and it has made me confident in my practice's ability to accurately track and administer life-saving therapies for our patients."

Integration between the two systems allows practices to quickly access the patient's treatment record and capture the treatment the patient will receive that day. The automated inventory ordering function from Lynx Mobile can be programmed to suggest items commonly used in the practice and to submit orders in advance of a patient's planned treatment, helping practices reduce excess inventory while ensuring they have what they need on site.

Lynx Mobile, created specifically for specialty care practices, and iKnowMed, created by oncologists for the oncology practice, are both web-based and designed with the community practice in mind – empowering practices to save money, time and improve patient care. Being products of the same company allows iKnowMed and Lynx Mobile users to shift software management responsibilities to McKesson Specialty Health where improvement and innovation are constant and upgrades to both systems are automatic.

"This initial work is just the beginning of advancing our IT solutions," said Asif Ahmad, senior vice president, Information and Technology Services, McKesson Specialty Health. "We are continuously working to enhance both iKnowMed and Lynx Mobile so oncology and specialty care practices can have integrated, user-friendly clinical workflow applications that seamlessly communicate. When integrated together, our technology solutions can drive elevated financial results, operational efficiencies and support clinicians in delivering even better care for their patients, which of course is our ultimate goal."

Both iKnowMed and Lynx Mobile are implemented in hundreds of sites of care across the U.S. Utilized by nearly 1,000 providers in 200 sites with more than 975,000 patient records and 6,800 concurrent users, iKnowMed provides insight into quality patient care and serves as a decision support tool at the point of care by providing staging and diagnosis suggestions according to criteria from the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC).

Lynx Mobile, the leading web-based, highly customizable inventory management system, is currently implemented in nearly 700 sites of care and used by more than 1,300 providers. Specifically designed for specialty care practices and with the ability to capture real-time inventory and patient treatments in a secure manner, Lynx Mobile provides optimal charge capture and intelligence reporting solutions for practices to improve patient care at virtually every point of workflow.

To learn more about iKnowMed, call (800) 482-6700, option 4 or email your questions to [email protected].

About McKesson Specialty Health

McKesson Specialty Health, a division of McKesson Corporation, empowers the community patient care delivery system to advance the science, technology and quality of care. Through innovative clinical, research, business and operational solutions, facilitated by integrated technology systems, we improve the financial health of our customers and help them provide quality care for patients. For more information, visit www.mckessonspecialtyhealth.com.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 15th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We partner with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com.

SOURCE McKesson Specialty Health