Community hospitals select McKesson's Paragon HIS, Practice Partner EHR system for physicians

McKesson today announced that three more community hospitals have chosen the company's Practice Partner^® Patient Records electronic health record (EHR) and practice management solution for their employed/affiliated physicians. The hospitals, which also selected the Paragon^® hospital information system (HIS) to automate care processes in their inpatient settings, aim to enhance communication and care coordination among healthcare providers in their communities. The new practices implementing the solution will join more than 100,000 physicians already using McKesson physician solutions nationwide.

“McKesson's unique offering for the inpatient and outpatient settings can help position hospitals and their physician communities to take advantage of these incentives.”

The latest hospitals to contract for the solutions include Davis County Hospital, located in Bloomfield, Iowa; Paynesville Area Hospital, located in Paynesville, Minn.; and Renville County Hospital and Clinics, located in Olivia, Minn.

"The government recently clarified that physicians who treat patients in hospital-based outpatient clinics are eligible for incentive payments under the HITECH Act of the economic stimulus plan," said David Henriksen, senior vice president of McKesson's Physician Practice Solutions group. "McKesson's unique offering for the inpatient and outpatient settings can help position hospitals and their physician communities to take advantage of these incentives."

Through tight integration, McKesson's Paragon HIS and Practice Partner EHR/practice management system offer a winning combination for communities looking to take the next step in care collaboration by connecting the inpatient and ambulatory settings. In the Practice Partner EHR, Bright Note Technology^™ automatically populates critical data on a patient chart. This enables physicians and other providers to use their preferred charting style to capture data in a single screen note and synchronize searchable data across the complete chart. The Practice Partner solution is part of McKesson's full suite of solutions designed to help physicians improve patient care. McKesson's offerings also include business management and revenue management systems, connectivity platforms for health information exchange, and medical-surgical equipment and supplies.

Paragon is specifically designed to address the unique needs of a community hospital. The HIS integrates critical financial and clinical solutions on a single platform. Those benefits translate into reduced training time for staff, enhanced data management and ease of deployment. The solution recently achieved the "Best in KLAS" ranking for Community HIS in the 2009 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Professional Services report for the fourth consecutive year.