Centra Selects Allscripts Electronic Health Record, Homecare and Community Exchange Solutions to Connect Virginia Medical Community

CHICAGO and LYNCHBURG, Va., July 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX) announced today that Centra, a three-hospital system in Central Virginia, has selected the Allscripts Electronic Health Record (EHR) solution for its staff physicians, and the Allscripts Community Exchange as the platform for electronically connecting the medical community in its region. Centra will also provide its home health nurses with the Allscripts Homecare solution to improve the continuity of care and help prevent the need for patient readmissions after they leave the hospital.

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Centra has been using the Allscripts ED solution to automate emergency department operations and improve access to clinical information since 2008.  

Centra will initially provide the Allscripts EHR to over 70 providers, including physicians and midlevel practitioners. Both employed and affiliated private-practice physicians will receive the Allscripts solution.  Centra plans to first introduce the EHR in an independent internal-medicine practice consisting of 18 providers, and to gradually provide the Electronic Health Record to over 250 providers in its service area.

"Our goal is to achieve true community physician integration," said Ben Clark, Chief Information Officer of Centra. "That's why we're offering the Allscripts EHR and Exchange products to both affiliated and non-affiliated practices. Our goal is to connect the community and extend our electronic health record across our whole sphere of service. We selected Allscripts because they can help us achieve this goal, and also because of the rich functionality and flexibility of the solution. Several groups in our community already use this product, and we're confident that it will serve our physicians well."

Another advantage of Allscripts Community Exchange, Clark said, is that it can be used to exchange key clinical data among disparate EHRs. With at least nine different EHRs deployed in the community, this capability will enable Centra to connect those systems. Staff physicians will also use their EHRs to order tests from Centra facilities and receive lab results and other hospital reports.    

In addition, Clark pointed out, Allscripts Community Exchange allows the healthcare system to use an Enterprise Master Patient Index, or EMPI, helping ensure that every piece of medical information is associated with the correct patient across the continuum of care.

Centra will host the Allscripts EHR and provide implementation and technical support to both affiliated and independent practices. With the EHR rollout slated to begin this Fall, Centra expects to have most of its affiliated practices online by 2011 so they can demonstrate meaningful use and qualify for incentives under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The Allscripts Homecare solution replaces another product that Centra's home health nurses have been using. It will enable the clinicians to access more information and report on each patient's condition more accurately, while sharing that data with other caregivers via the enterprise physician portal.

"Centra has a history of treating the patient for the whole continuum of care, from birth to end of life," Clark said. "The Allscripts Homecare solution is the perfect fit. We have Allscripts in our emergency department today, and now we're about to deploy the EHR in the ambulatory environment. When we add the Homecare product, we'll be using the same platform across a large part of the care continuum. As we continue to expand our connectivity, the Allscripts suite of products will continue to improve the quality of care and show our community the value of a truly integrated health system."

A custom interface will link Allscripts Homecare to Centra's enterprise information system, noted Clark. By posting the home health data on the physician portal, he said, Centra hopes to keep physicians better informed about their patients' progress, which should lead to reduced readmissions. Similarly, the use of Allscripts Community Exchange will ensure proper medication reconciliation during care transitions and will prevent duplication of orders as patients move from one care setting to another. And when a patient presents in the ED, the ED physicians will have instant access to all of his or her records, speeding medical decision-making.

"A connected community enables clinicians to get the maximum value out of health information technology," said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts. "By having the right information on the right patient at the right time, physicians and other providers can make better decisions and deliver the appropriate care when it will make the most difference in outcomes. We commend Centra for taking this visionary approach to the deployment of Electronic Health Records and connectivity across the community. Everyone will benefit from this approach—especially patients, who will be able to count on getting optimal care from Centra and its physicians."

Additional Information on ARRA and Meaningful Use

Allscripts has recently deployed a number of resources to help physician practices demonstrate "meaningful use" and take advantage of the ARRA incentives:

• The Allscripts Stimulus Program provides physicians with a guarantee that the Allscripts Electronic Health Record they select will meet the EHR certification criteria provided by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Physicians can also benefit from an Allscripts financing program requiring no payments for software for six months, as well as programs focused on faster implementation to ensure physicians can access the Federal Stimulus incentives.
• The Allscripts Stimulus Center provides the latest information on ARRA, including frequently asked questions on Meaningful Use and Certification.
• The Allscripts Legislative & Regulatory Action Center is a place to learn about and take action on issues that are critical to the provider community, providing a simple, 'one touch' connection to elected officials.
• 'Go' is a website designed for physicians and other providers who are considering deploying Electronic Health Records and other healthcare information technologies.  Available at www.allscripts.com/go, the site provides easy access to best practices and success stories from the Allscripts client community of more than 160,000 physicians, 800 hospitals, and 10,000 post-acute care facilities.  

About Centra

A not-for-profit health system, Centra operates two main hospitals: Lynchburg General Hospital in Lynchburg,   a 358-bed critical care facility that is the area's regional center for emergency medicine, with 88,000 annual Emergency Department visits; and Virginia Baptist Hospital, a 160-bed facility that has received Press Ganey's prestigious Summit Award for achievement in patient satisfaction.  In January 2006, Southside Community Hospital in Farmville joined Centra as an affiliate.

About Allscripts

Allscripts uses innovation technology to bring health to healthcare. More than 160,000 physicians, 800 hospitals and more than 10,000 post-acute and homecare organizations utilize Allscripts to improve the health of their patients and their bottom line.  The company's award-winning solutions include Electronic Health Record, Electronic Prescribing, Revenue Cycle Solutions, Practice Management, Document Management, Care Management, Emergency Department Information Systems and Homecare automation. Allscripts is the brand name of Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. To learn more, visit www.allscripts.com.

For more Allscripts news, follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/AllscriptsMisys

This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements regarding future events, developments, the Company's future performance, as well as management's expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans, estimates or projections relating to the future are forward-looking statements within the meaning of these laws. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which are outlined below. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are: the volume and timing of systems sales and installations; length of sales cycles and the installation process; the possibility that products will not achieve or sustain market acceptance; the timing, cost and success or failure of new product and service introductions, development and product upgrade releases; competitive pressures including product offerings, pricing and promotional activities; our ability to establish and maintain strategic relationships; undetected errors or similar problems in our software products; compliance with existing laws, regulations and industry initiatives and future changes in laws or regulations in the healthcare industry; possible regulation of the Company's software by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; the possibility of product-related liabilities; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; our ability to identify and complete acquisitions, manage our growth and integrate acquisitions; the ability to recognize the benefits of the merger with Misys Healthcare Systems, LLC ("MHS");  the integration of MHS with the Company and the possible disruption of current plans and operations as a result thereof;  maintaining our intellectual property rights and litigation involving intellectual property rights; risks related to third-party suppliers; our ability to obtain, use or successfully integrate third-party licensed technology; breach of our security by third parties; and the risk factors detailed from time to time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our 2009 Annual Report on Form 10-K available through the Web site maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc.

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