Sacred Heart Medical Group Selects Allscripts Practice Management and Revenue Cycle Management for 200 Providers

CHICAGO and PENSACOLA, Fla., April 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX) announced today that Sacred Heart Medical Group has selected the Allscripts Practice Management and Allscripts Payerpath™ revenue cycle management solutions to automate billing, scheduling, claims management and other vital financial functions for its 200 providers in 37 locations.

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Sacred Heart Medical Group is the Pensacola Region's largest network of primary care and specialty physicians, with locations in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay and Baldwin counties. The group is part of the Sacred Heart Health System, which operates three hospitals in Northwest Florida and Southern Alabama and is a member of the Ascension Health system, the nation's largest system of not-for-profit health care facilities.  

Sacred Heart selected Allscripts after a comprehensive 18-month search based on the company's ability to simplify and speed back-office workflows, according to Peter Heckathorn, President of the medical group. Heckathorn added that Sacred Heart's replacement of its legacy practice management system will set the groundwork for the group's planned implementation of an Electronic Health Record to automate everyday clinical functions.

"Sacred Heart Medical Group is committed to providing quality patient care in the most effective and efficient manner possible, and the Allscripts practice management and claims management solutions make it easier for us to deliver on that promise," said Heckathorn. "This agreement cements the foundation of our vision for creating a unified electronic platform that allows us to deliver quality patient care in an innovative and meaningful way."

Laura Irwin, Chief Operating Officer for Sacred Heart Medical Group, said she was impressed by Allscripts ability to manage the group's provider-based billing, a complex process that usually results in separate patient bills for physician-office services and hospital outpatient services. "Allscripts can handle provider-based billing on one computer system, which means patients will no longer receive two separate statements," said Irwin.  "We expect that to improve patient satisfaction because they'll be able to talk with just one person about all of their bills."

The Allscripts Practice Management solution combines sophisticated billing and scheduling tools in a single package. Allscripts Payerpath is a complete revenue cycle management solution that provides an easy-to-use, secure method for electronically submitting insurance claims to payers quickly, accurately and cost effectively. Payerpath 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.

Combining the two solutions enables Sacred Heart to automate tasks that would otherwise require back-and-forth shuffling between their practice management system and claims clearinghouse software.

Allscripts Chief Executive Officer Glen Tullman commented, "Sacred Heart Medical Group has demonstrated strong leadership by providing their physicians with the practice management and revenue cycle management capabilities they need to thrive in today's challenging healthcare market. As the nation's largest physician-focused claims clearinghouse, our Payerpath solution in particular gives Sacred Heart the credibility, experience and results that payers demand, which means they get reimbursed for their services more quickly and with less hassle."  

About Sacred Heart Medical Group

Sacred Heart Health System has established itself as the most preferred hospital in Northwest Florida and the region's leader in providing high quality health care to children and adults.  Key services include a 466-bed hospital in Pensacola that includes the area's only Women's and Children's Hospital. Other key services include a Regional Heart and Vascular Institute, Stroke Center, Level II Trauma Center, a Cancer Center affiliated with M. D. Anderson Physicians Network, and a large regional network of primary care and specialty doctors stretching from Foley, Ala. to Panama City Beach, Fla.  In 2003, the Health System added Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast, a 58-bed community hospital in Walton County. In March 2010, the new Sacred Heart Hospital on the Gulf, a 25-bed hospital, opened in Port St. Joe, Fla.

Sacred Heart is part of Ascension Health, the nation's largest system of not-for-profit health care facilities.  Sacred Heart has been recognized for eight straight years by National Research Corporation as winner of the Consumer Choice Award as the most preferred health care system in Northwest Florida.

For more information, call 850-416-7000 or visit online at www.sacred-heart.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.