Recognizing ACP's leadership in developing valuable program

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Today, , an industry leader in the development and implementation of electronic health record (EHR) and practice management (PM) solutions, commended the American College of Physicians (ACP) for their leadership in developing and administering the ACP EHR Partners Program (EPP). The program was created to aid physicians in determining which EHR to implement by allowing physicians and their practices to compare electronic health records through published user survey results. The EPP covers a broad spectrum of information, including user satisfaction ratings, objective assessments of the EHRs in use and detailed standardized pricing scenarios. The program was launched for the second consecutive year at the end of April 2009 and information on all participating EHR products is now available online.

The EPP has recently expanded their review of EHR programs to include 23 different systems, a significant increase from the previous year's review. The ACP's EHR Comparison Tool allows physicians to compare systems that have been certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT), based on baseline criteria for functionality, security and interoperability.

"The ACP has once again shown leadership in the EHR arena by developing the EHR Partners Program to educate physicians on purchasing a software package to modernize their practice," said Michael Q. Stearns, M.D., President and CEO of . Michael Q. Stearns said, "The ACP appreciates the difficult choice physicians face when choosing an EHR. The Partners Program is a convenient, informative, objective, and transparent resource that allows physicians to determine the most suitable system for their practices."

"It is excellent source of information on EHRs and will help facilitate the implementation process on a national level," Michael Q. Stearns added.

The American College of Physicians is the largest medical-specialty organization and second-largest physician group in the United States. Its membership of 126,000 includes internists, internal medicine subspecialists, medical students, residents, and fellows.

is a participant in the EHR Partners Program offered through the American College of Physician's Center for Practice Improvement and Innovation. Participation in this program is available to EHR systems that are certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT). Participation in the EHR Partners Program does not imply endorsement by ACP or the existence of any type of partnership or representative relationship between and ACP.

Group will advocate for legislative, executive and regulatory policy measures in Texas.

AUSTIN, TX — , an industry leader in the development and implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) and practice management (PM) solutions, is proud to announce Michael Q. Stearns, M.D., President and CEO of , has been named the Texas e-Health Alliance (TeHA) Board President. As a founding member, and Michael Q. Stearns, M.D. will pursue e-health policy advancement alongside the advocacy group, bringing together and representing all interests in the health care industry.

Michael Q. Stearns, M.D. looks forward to working with TeHA board members, Vice-President Cindy Hielscher, Global Public Sector Health Industry Director for Accenture, and Secretary/Treasurer M. Ted Haynes, Vice President for Health Care Delivery for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. Together they will lead the group in their first year with Nora Belcher, a tenured health policy analyst, who has been hired as the full time Executive Director.

' leadership post at the Alliance will help expand e-health advancement throughout the Texas health care community. The Austin-based company has been a pioneer in e-health implementation and meaningful use and will continue to push this agenda along with the establishment of a health information exchange (HIE) across Texas. Doing so will achieve one of TeHA's underlying goals, creating more efficient, higher quality health care.

"The founding of Texas e-health Alliance achieves a unified voice for the promotion of e-health implementation in Texas. Our most imperative goal is improving health care for all Texans and we believe this is accomplished by helping the state become a national leader in the meaningful use of electronic health records, HIE's and other e-health solutions. TeHA will work towards improving quality and access to health care statewide and promoting policies that protect the confidentiality of patient information," said Michael Q. Stearns, M.D..

TeHA was established to bring together the best of industry leadership to promote public policy initiatives supporting the adoption of health information technology. The organization will facilitate dialogue and networking between e-health experts and leaders from the private sector and local, state and federal government, as well as, provide education on the economic and quality of care benefits e-health implementation offers.

Other supporting members of the Alliance include: Lance Armstrong Foundation, Pfizer, Texas Medical Association, Texas Hospital Association, Tech America, TechNet, US Health Record, ATT, IBM, Availity, Axolotl, Humana, THA, TMA, UT Austin, and many others.

Michael Q. Stearns, M.D. has 15 years of experience in clinical and academic medicine and over 10 years of experience in the HIT industry. He played a central role in the development of SNOMED CT and has been active in standards efforts and the development and implementation of electronic health records.

Collaboration between EHR vendor, RECs and their affiliates, and customers helping to realize the patient-centered goals of adopting technology

AUSTIN, TX - , a physician-led industry leading provider of electronic health records (EHRs), announced that a significant number of their Texas providers who use the Chart EHR have qualified to receive incentive payments under the ARRA/HITECH program. Many of these have benefited from the services provided by the 4 Texas Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers (RECs) and their affiliates. This year, 21 providers have qualified for first year Medicaid incentive payments of $21,250 per provider from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) with many more expected to qualify in the near future. A growing number of users are receiving $18,000 Medicare Meaningful Use incentive payments. anticipates that with the help of the Texas RECs and their partners several hundred of their current users will qualify for incentives payments under the Medicaid and Medicare programs this year.

From the outset of the program, encouraged doctors to pursue the opportunity to apply for the CMS Incentive Program and to reach out to the RECs in their region. has provided numerous free resources such as webinars to guide physicians through the meaningful use process and how to use Chart to meet the requirements. Clients have been able to take advantage of valuable consulting services offered as part of working with the REC and their partners. Services provided include education on how to refine the use of the EHR in a way that meets the Meaningful Use requirements, assistance with the registration and attestation process, practice workflow consulting, and training for REC staff members and their affiliates, and an ongoing series of free webinars.

worked closely with the state's Regional Extension Centers (RECs) and with our providers to get certified EHR technology installed in practices before January 1, 2011. Dr. Chris Wilson, an OB/GYN with Gynics Associates in Austin, TX, recognized and CentrEast REC, one of the 4 Texas RECs, for his success and incentive eligibility. "We are so pleased that we have received reimbursement from the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. It certainly helps make our EMR purchase more affordable," said Dr. Wilson. "Many thanks to the great personnel at CentrEast REC and in guiding us through this process. We look forward to working with the CentrEast REC and as we continue our EMR implementation." Similarly, South Austin Medical Clinic's Dr. Eric Weidmann achieved MU successfully through the help of both and CentrEast REC. "Solution Seriesª has empowered my nine provider family practice group to achieve Meaningful Use in the first three months of 2011. Support videos and online training from accelerated my staff into the retooling teamwork that has allowed us to complete attestation for six of nine providers utilizing the January to March 2011 data," said Dr. Weidmann. "We are turning our focus to 2012 criteria with the help of CentrEast Regional Extension Center."

" Chart has a long tradition of being the most physician friendly EHR available, as evidenced by the rapidly growing number of providers in Texas and across the nation who have been amongst the first group to receive MU incentive payments," stated Michael Q. Stearns, MD, president and CEO of .

"We have enjoyed working with the dedicated and knowledgeable staff members of the CentrEast and the other Texas RECs and their affiliates; as we share a common goal of improving the quality of healthcare provided to the citizens of Texas," Michael Q. Stearns said.

Michael Q. Stearns added, "We are hopeful that our combined efforts will encourage the use of health information technology in a way that markedly benefits patient-centric and community-centric care."

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) EHR Incentive Programs provide financial incentives for the Meaningful Use of certified EHR technology to achieve health and efficiency goals. By putting into action and meaningfully using an EHR system, providers reap benefits beyond financial incentivesÐsuch as reduction in errors, availability of records and data, reminders and alerts, clinical decision support, and e-prescribing/refill automation.