Akron General Health System and McKesson announce strategic agreement to enhance patient care

Akron General Health System and McKesson today announced a strategic agreement that expands the hospital’s ongoing initiative to boost patient safety, improve quality and enhance care coordination among healthcare providers in northeast Ohio.

“Akron General Health System is quickly becoming a national model of success, as its hospitals and medical teams use productivity technologies to provide the best patient care possible”

Building on the successful deployment of McKesson’s electronic health record (EHR) in its employed physician practices, Akron General has purchased Practice Partner^®, a fully integrated EHR/practice management system, and will offer this solution to their Physician Hospital Organization and additional affiliated physicians in the community. The scope of physicians who can benefit from the initiative is more than 500 providers.

“Akron General is on the fast track to becoming a national showcase for what a connected medical community should look like,” said Dr. Jack Mitstifer, president of Inpatient Services at Akron General, which serves a population of more than 1.2 million people. “By expanding our partnership with McKesson, we are implementing all the right tools and connections to establish an ambulatory care center of excellence and make it easier than ever for the regional healthcare community to do business with us.”

Akron General already has identified dozens of area physician practices ready to participate in the project by implementing the Practice Partner solution. Once installed, the EHR/practice management system, paired with the RelayHealth^® connectivity platform, will enable physicians to electronically document patient care, submit prescriptions and receive laboratory results. Additionally, Akron General and physician practices will be able to electronically share clinical patient information, enhancing communication within the healthcare community. A local McKesson certified value-added reseller, Complete Healthcare Solutions, will provide implementation and support services for physicians implementing the Practice Partner solution.

The upgrade of Akron General’s existing healthcare information technology (HIT) systems will bring the hospital onto the latest release of McKesson’s Horizon Clinicals^® advanced inpatient solution suite. In addition to enhancements for existing systems, plans include new capabilities to enhance patient safety such as a computerized provider order entry (CPOE) system. With CPOE, hospital physicians will be able to submit patient order requests electronically and provide accurate and timely communication regarding patient needs. In addition, Akron General is implementing business intelligence solutions that will empower it to make informed decisions to continually improve clinical, financial and operational efficiencies.

“We’ve made it a priority to ensure that our community healthcare providers will have the tools they need to be able to focus their time and attention on providing top-quality care and enhanced patient safety – whether in the hospital or in their own physician practice,” explained Dr. Mitstifer. “In addition, this initiative supports efforts to qualify for funding from the economic stimulus plan for both physicians and the health system.”

Practice Partner, used by more than 25,000 medical professional nationwide, is part of McKesson’s comprehensive portfolio of physician solutions that includes clinical and EHR software as well as business management and revenue management solutions. The company also provides connectivity solutions for health information exchange and medical-surgical equipment and supplies. McKesson’s Horizon Clinicals solutions are relied upon by clinicians nationwide in virtually all settings of care.

“Akron General Health System is quickly becoming a national model of success, as its hospitals and medical teams use productivity technologies to provide the best patient care possible,” said Sunny Sanyal, president of McKesson Provider Technologies. “McKesson is honored to partner with Akron General for this ongoing initiative – a community transformation that is taking hold in healthcare systems across the country.”