Functionality Needs Drive Seven FQHCs to athenahealth EHR Implementation
Increased EHR functionality between CHAN’s seven health centers was a significant motive behind the athenahealth EHR implementation.
Community Health Access Network (CHAN) announced it will begin an athenahealth EHR implementation across its seven federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) to enhance functionality offerings for better care coordination.
“Our ultimate goal is to bolster seamless, high-quality care delivery to those in need, especially those that benefit from care coordination for managing chronic conditions and addressing social determinants of health,” Gary Noseworthy, executive director of CHAN, said in a press release “Working with athenahealth will give our members and staff the tools they need to inform business strategy and continue their long-standing commitment to providing meaningful integrated and evidence-based care.”
In CHAN’s search for a new EHR, the network’s FQHC members primarily sought to increase interoperability between its numerous health facilities and facilitate collaboration with other providers.
Members also wanted to empower patients with digital engagement tools like online patient portals and mobile apps. Furthermore, the network wanted to leverage robust data analytics tools for enhanced clinical, financial, and operational metrics visibility, enabling effective reporting and driving better outcomes.
“Our decision to move forward with athenahealth was driven by the value the company can deliver to help us streamline staff and clinician workflows and coordinate care for our community,” said Kris McCracken, chief executive officer of Amoskeag Health and CHAN’s founding member and board chairman. “With athenaOne, we will have key functionality to access information and facilitate communication between patients and providers, and better coordinate care across our community.”
By gaining access to athenaOne, CHAN members will be provided several EHR tools for billing and patient engagement to improve patient and provider experiences, care quality, and financial performance.
Additionally, the EHR aims to improve clinician documentation, simplify workflows, improve accuracy, and enable better focus on the patient during appointments.
Another VA Medical Center Begins Oracle Cerner EHR Install
Weirton Medical Center has invested $65 million in an Oracle Cerner EHR implementation to seamlessly unify all patient information and physicians across the WMC network into one platform.
The EHR implementation project, which is already underway, is expected to go live in late fall 2023.
CommunityWorks, implemented in over 300 hospitals nationwide, is a part of a much larger component, the Millennium EHR.
“Our partnership with Oracle Cerner to install the CommunityWorks platform is a big undertaking, but we are really excited about the progress our team is making on the project,” Cristen Nopwaskey, WMC chief information officer, said. “The entire organization is involved because the system will affect every part of our operation. The goal is to combine all patient health information into a single platform.”
“This means, if you come to the emergency room or visit a WMC physician office, your provider will be able to immediately access all the information necessary to provide the highest level of care. It also will provide patients with real-time access to all their medical information in a single step.”
First Choice Neurology Launches eClincialWorks EHR Across 40 Locations
First Choice Neurology has announced an eClinicalWorks EHR implementation across its 40 locations.
The neurology group facilitates care for more than 1,300 patients daily across six Florida counties and provides services at 35 major hospitals.
As one of the larger neurology groups in the nation, First Choice Neurology had several EHR functionality needs that eClinicalWorks was able to meet, the press release stated.
Primarily, ClinicalWorks V12, the latest version of the EHR software, offers a multifaceted platform for improving value-based care, workflow, and EHR usability.
Additionally, First Choice Neurology will leverage the health information search tool PRISMA to simplify the patient record retrieval process, allowing for easier patient data access from different hospitals nationwide.
“We’ve seen great improvements to our workflows and operations since implementing V12 EHR,” said Jose M. Rocha, director corporate business office of First Choice Neurology. “We love how eClinicalWorks provides additional services that integrate seamlessly with the EHR, like healow TeleVisits and PRISMA.”