Point-of-Care Partners—a national health information technology (HIT) strategy and management consulting firm—was recognized on September 21 for its role in helping Michigan attain the nation's second highest rate of ePrescribing in 2009. The commendation came as part of Surescripts' fifth annual Safe-Rx Awards, which are based on several factors including each state's overall ePrescribing volume.
Point-of-Care Partners (POCP) was recognized for its role as project manager for the well-known success story, the Southeastern Michigan ePrescribing Initiative (SEMI), a health information exchange formed to facilitate ePrescribing and the exchange of medication-related data. SEMI is a collaborative consisting of General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the Health Alliance Plan, the Henry Ford Medical Group, Chrysler and Caremark. It is a complex organization made up of arch rivals with differing business cultures but having the common objective of reducing healthcare costs while improving healthcare quality. With POCP's guidance, SEMI has become a driving force behind Michigan's significant growth in ePrescribing.
From 2008 to 2009, Michigan's ePrescribing volume increased by 230% from 4.9 to 11.3 million. As of August 31, SEMI had more than 5,500 participating physicians. Since the program began in January 2005, ePrescribing physicians in the SEMI area have generated more than 23 million prescriptions using ePrescribing and electronic health record systems.
"We could not be happier with Michigan's high ePrescribing ranking and our role in it," said Tony Schueth, POCP's CEO and managing partner. "Like all health information exchanges, SEMI is multi-faceted with numerous stakeholders each having its own goals and objectives. Managing complex projects such as these is our sweet spot."
"We work with a wide range of federal and state agencies, payers, health information exchanges, provider organizations and vendors. We pride ourselves in finding ways to navigate through their differing goals and sometimes competitive positions to achieve each project's objectives," Mr. Schueth added. "Our years of healthcare and HIT experience help us understand what drives each stakeholder organization and allow us to avoid their sensitivities while we organize them to achieve their common goals."
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