Methodist chooses Eclipsys HealthXchange solution for expanding care community access to clinical data

Eclipsys Corporation (NASDAQ: ECLP), The Outcomes Company®, today announced that The Methodist Hospital of Houston (Methodist), TX, has selected Eclipsys HealthXchange™ to support it in connecting its local care community. The scalable and secure platform, powered by Medicity, will connect Methodist's acute care electronic health record (EHR) with a network of disparate EHRs in use at local affiliated physician offices throughout the region/local area. The seamless exchange of patient information will support enhanced care continuity and quality, and in turn assist both the hospital and community physicians in becoming eligible for stimulus funding associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

“We wanted a solution that would help us expand access to clinical data without the need for physicians to undergo an unnecessary expense of replacing an existing system. The neutral platform offered by Eclipsys HealthXchange solution will enable us to seamlessly link disparate vendor applications to essentially create a "virtual”

More than 200 affiliated physicians are involved in the initial rollout of connectivity with Methodist's Eclipsys™-provided EHR. In addition, Eclipsys HealthXchange will support paper-based physician practices to receive and exchange important clinical data via WebAccess email. The Eclipsys HealthXchange is vendor-neutral technology that connects hospital systems to any EHR or supplementary system, integrating electronic patient information directly into physician offices.

"We wanted a solution that would help us expand access to clinical data without the need for physicians to undergo an unnecessary expense of replacing an existing system. The neutral platform offered by Eclipsys HealthXchange solution will enable us to seamlessly link disparate vendor applications to essentially create a "virtual" community-wide EHR. Based on our strong partnership with Eclipsys, we are confident that HealthXchange will provide easy access to the essential clinical data needed to meet our goal of delivering high-quality, cost-effective healthcare," said Tim Thompson, chief information officer, The Methodist Hospital.

Achieving ARRA Guidelines and Improving Outcomes across the Care Continuum

Methodist's use of Eclipsys HealthXchange also will help position the healthcare organization and participating local physicians to qualify for ARRA funds. To be eligible to receive ARRA incentives, providers must demonstrate "meaningful use" of EHR systems. Specifically, EHRs must be interoperable, enabling the exchange of health information with other providers for more coordinated care. HealthXchange creates an interoperable environment for sharing data across settings and organizations and meets ARRA goals for coordination of care and electronic sharing of patient information.

"We are pleased that our valued client The Methodist Hospital has entrusted Eclipsys to help in achieving its goal of expanded access to clinical data throughout its community," said Jay Deady, Eclipsys' executive vice president, Client Solutions. "This is yet another example of how Eclipsys is supporting clients to reach out and connect communities to extend the availability of updated patient information to improve the efficiency and quality of care. Our open, interoperable approach also gives participating physicians the pragmatic option to leverage existing third-party EHR systems to achieve interoperability and is in keeping with our belief that healthcare can no longer afford the waste and costs associated with closed, proprietary systems. An open platform is ever-important as organizations respond to the increased call for interoperable systems across care communities and larger geographical areas through ARRA specifications and other quality initiatives."