McKesson helps Advanced Health Care improve patient care and boost revenue with electronic health records

1. Case Study
Advanzed Health Care
Implements EHR System to Improve
At a Glance
Patient Care and Boost Revenue
Organization
Advanzed Health Care, PLC Advanzed Health Care, PLC, struck IT implementation. “The ability to
Arlington, Va. the perfect balance between instantly access critical patient
enhancing revenue and improving information and improve patient
– Internal medicine practice
patient outcomes when it compliance with prescribed
– 2 physicians
implemented an electronic health therapies really sold us on the
– 3.5 full-time employees record (EHR) system in 2001. need for an EHR solution.”
Since then, the practice has
– Active patient population
increased the use of preventive Advanzed Health Care selected
of 3,000, with 40% of patients
McKesson’s Practice Partner® EHR
care treatments for chronically ill
on Medicare
patients, boosted productivity, and system, a fully integrated EHR,
raised annual revenue by $40,000 medical billing and appointment
Solution Spotlight
per physician — all without the scheduling software. (Practice
– Practice Partner need for additional support staff. Partner version 9.2 from McKesson
is a CCHIT CertifiedSM product
Challenge for CCHIT Ambulatory EHR 2006
Critical Issues
and 2007.)
In 2000 Advanzed Health Care
– Improving the quality of
searched for ways to improve its
patient care
According to Dr. Amedeo, the
quality of care and operational
– Increasing productivity Practice Partner system was easy
efficiencies. The practice was
to implement, with no impact
aware that a large percentage
on patient volume during
Results of its patients was not receiving
implementation. Throughout
the care necessary to manage
– Increased average daily visits
the first three months, the lead
such chronic conditions as diabetes
by 10%
physician focused on training staff
and hypertension. Closing this
– Increased annual revenue by and customizing the system to meet
gap in care seemed challenging
$40,000 without additional staff the practice’s needs. Since Advanzed
because the practice had only
Healthcare decided to build its
– Made measurable improve- two physicians and limited
EHR database gradually, existing
ments in patient care: support staff.
patients’ medical information was
– Coronary heart disease
entered into the system at the time
Answer
patients on a lipid-lowering
of their visit, with staff scanning and
prescription increased from Advanzed Health Care decided uploading key paper documentation
58% to 95% to implement an EHR system to into their medical records later.
improve care quality and boost
– Hypertensive patients with New patients were immediately
productivity. “The financial
a well-controlled blood given a medical record.
benefits were important, but
pressure increased from
our primary objective for
45% to 84% Results
integrating an EHR was to
– Diabetes patients under- Advanzed Health Care made
improve the quality of care
going the microalbumin/ productivity gains across its business
we provide to our patients,”
creatinine test to evaluate with the Practice Partner integrated
explains Dr. R. Michael Amedeo,
kidney function increased EHR system, which automates all the
the physician leading the
from 4% to 85%
– Male patients more than
40 years old on antiplatelet
medication rose to more
than 60%

2. Case Study
“The ability to instantly access clinical functions of the practice. patient outcomes. Customizable
Staff members now focus on core health maintenance templates
critical patient information tasks rather than tracking and automatically alert doctors of
managing paper charts. Physicians overdue lab tests and medications
and improve patient
spend more time with patients for patients with particular
compliance with prescribed and have instant access to patient conditions. Practice Partner progress
information, ensuring that they note templates contain patient-
therapies really sold us on make informed clinical-care specific reminders on overdue
decisions. health maintenance items, providing
the need for an EHR solution.”
a convenient reminder during the
The integrated EHR solution visit. Reminders also appear when
saves Advanzed Health Care staff members open a patient’s
R. Michael Amedeo, M.D. administrative time with reduced chart, providing a prompt to
keystrokes for task completion, complete recommended therapies
Advanzed Health Care
improved document management, when the patient visits the office.
and more effective scheduling and
billing. The Practice Partner system Dr. Amedeo states Advanzed Health
interfaces electronically with Care tracks and manages patients
Advanzed’s clinical reference better and has improved care since
laboratory. As a result, new lab implementing the Practice Partner
results are electronically posted to system. For example, the percentage
a patient’s medical record. Staff of diabetes patients who underwent
members no longer have to file the microalbumin/creatinine test to
paper lab reports. Instead, they evaluate kidney function increased
scan information not received in from 4% to 85%.
electronic format directly into the
patient’s medical record. Since “Making these quality improve-
Advanzed Health Care physicians ments has not come at the expense
can access the Practice Partner EHR of productivity. In fact, we have
system from the local hospital, it is enjoyed a boost in productivity
easier to make rounds on patients since the implementation of the
because physicians can review and EHR system,” says Dr. Amedeo.
update their records electronically. “We have been able to see more
patients and increase annual
The Practice Partner solution revenue by an estimated $40,000
has given physicians at Advanzed per physician without the need
Health Care the power to improve for additional office staff.”
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