North Hawaii Begins Wellogic Implementation To Foster Innovative Care Models Across Hawaii's Big Island

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and KAMUELA, Hawaii, March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Island physicians have been among the nation's leading adopters of health information technology. Over ninety percent of independent physicians in Kamuela regularly use an electronic health record. Technologically advanced as these practices are within their four walls, however, they can realize substantial patient safety, cost management, consumer satisfaction, and efficiency benefits from community wide care coordination enabled by health information exchange. The newly formed North Hawaii Health Information Exchange (NHHIE) has partnered with Wellogic to do just that.

The NHHIE is a collaborative effort involving the North Hawaii Community Hospital, the Hawaii Independent Physicians Association, independent physicians and their staff, and integrates the region's leading payors, laboratories, imaging centers, pharmacies, and other trading partners. The NHHIE will utilize Wellogic's provider and consumer portals and the Wellogic Health Information Exchange (HIE) to enable better management of transitions in care and tackle deep problems caused by gaps in care. The effort will adopt many aspects of accountable care and patient centered medical home management models. A key goal is, over time, to dramatically align the incentives of participating organizations and consumers.

John White, North Hawaii Community Hospital's Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. William Park, Chief of Staff and General Surgeon, believe the project will establish a scalable model that can be replicated across the state and nation. "This is a grassroots effort to make available, for the first time, a wealth of clinical information to patients and their physicians at the point of care. Leveraging information technology to connect all the Big Island physicians, hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies, and insurance companies is essential to this effort," said Bill Park. According to White, "Wellogic is a technology partner who brings experience and energy to this project. We hope to demonstrate that a united community with the right partners can improve the quality and safety of patient care in a measurable and significant way."

"As a practicing emergency room physician and Big Island Senator, I am convinced that the addition of Wellogic's health information exchange and health record system to North Hawaii and other medical practices across Hawaii will have a profoundly positive impact for the care of our people," said Senator Josh Green, Hawaii State Senator and Hawaii IPA Director. "As the healthcare system rapidly evolves, we will be leaning heavily on innovators like Mr. Nagpal to contribute ideas which will allow us to get everyone affordable, quality healthcare in a practical and cost effective manner."

"The North Hawaii community is uniquely ready to take this next step to achieve meaningful health information interoperability," said Sumit Nagpal, President and CEO, Wellogic. "We are delighted that the NHHIE has chosen Wellogic and our strategic partner HCL to supply foundation technology, leverage our learning, and utilize our substantial implementation and managed services capability to bring this very important project to life."

About North Hawaii Community Hospital

North Hawaii Community Hospital (www.northhawaiicommunityhospital.org) is a rural, thirty-nine bed acute care medical facility located in Kamuela, Hawaii. This non-profit, community-owned hospital opened in 1996 and serves residents and visitors of the Island of Hawaii. NHCH offers a full spectrum of acute-care hospital services. It has a commitment to patient-centered care, treating the patient as a whole person - mind, body and spirit - in the context of family, culture and community. NHCH is a prototype for the careful integration of high-quality medical care and select complementary healing practices administered in a safe and caring environment.

About Hawaii IPA

The Hawaii Independent Physician's Association (www.hawaiiipa.com) is Hawaii's largest association of independent physicians. Today's economic and bureaucratic reality demands that independent physicians collectively fight trends that have a negative impact on patients and the practice of medicine. The Hawaii Independent Physicians Association is 800 doctors strong and growing. Its strategic intervention, technology focus and dynamic bargaining power allow doctors in private practice to concentrate on the vital business of patient care throughout Hawaii.

About Wellogic

Wellogic (www.wellogic.com) provides industry-certified interoperability and point-of-care solutions for connecting the healthcare community and enabling safety, efficiency, and convenience in care delivery. With more than fifteen years' experience facilitating meaningful interoperability and enhancing clinical workflow, the company truly understands the complexity of healthcare. It has developed a depth of experience in solving some of the most challenging issues confronting the industry today. Wellogic's award-winning web-based connectivity solutions for physicians and caregivers, patients, health systems and health information exchanges are consistently recognized as the most usable, flexible and scalable solutions available, and are used daily to deliver safer, more cost-effective care for millions of patients.

About HCL

HCL (www.hcltech.com and www.hcl.in) is a $5 billion leading global Engineering and IT Enterprise that comprises two companies listed in India -- HCL Technologies & HCL Infosystems. Founded in 1976, HCL is one of India's original IT garage start-ups, a pioneer of modern computing, and a global transformational enterprise today. Its range of offerings spans Product Engineering, Custom & Package Applications, BPO, IT Infrastructure Services, IT Hardware, Systems Integration, and distribution of ICT products across a wide range of focused industry verticals. The HCL team comprises over 60,000 professionals of diverse nationalities, who operate from 26 countries including over 500 points of presence in India. HCL has global partnerships with several leading Fortune 1000 firms, including leading IT and Technology firms.

SOURCE Wellogic