Secure electronic messaging system helps streamline care coordination and collaboration among MEDENT’s 7,000 healthcare providers
ARLINGTON, Va. – June 5, 2013 – MEDENT, a recognized leader in the healthcare practice management automation market, has added Surescripts’ Basic Messaging and Communications product to its suite of services available to more than 7,000 healthcare providers currently using MEDENT’s Meaningful Use-certified, all-in-one electronic health record (EHR), patient portal and practice management system. Surescripts Basic Messaging and Communications is a subscription service that allows patient-specific protected health information to be instantaneously and securely transmitted between healthcare providers, leading to increased efficiency, informed care decisions, better patient outcomes, and lower healthcare costs.
MEDENT EHR physician practices using Surescripts Basic Messaging and Communications will enhance care coordination within and across healthcare provider organizations by enabling instant, streamlined communication and secure messaging among care teams. MEDENT’s EHR system is used by provider organizations in nine states across New England, the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, including Trinity Family Medicine, in Weedsport, NY. As an early adopter of Surescripts Basic Messaging and Communications integrated with MEDENT’s EHR system, Trinity Family Medicine leveraged this new clinical interoperability capability and saw immediate benefits (see also: http://www.medent.com/CaseStudys/MEDTrinityFamilyFinal.pdf).
“For the first time, it’s possible to securely interact with another physician without being on the phone and taking time away from the patient,” said Dr. Sean Boyle, M.D., physician and founder of Trinity Family Practice. “In two minutes, without having to think about it, I can take the referral from one level to the next,” Dr. Boyle added. “In the past, the process would have taken 15 to 20 minutes of my time.”
“Clinical interoperability is playing an increasingly critical role in addressing national care and compliance mandates, such as supporting the meaningful use of EHRs and accountable care organizations,” said Gary Cuthbert, president, MEDENT. “By leveraging Surescripts Basic Messaging and Communications capabilities, our healthcare providers are able to more efficiently interact with one another and receive information on common patients, as well as transmit information through federally-approved communication platforms. The result is enhanced care coordination and collaboration among the healthcare providers we serve.”
Surescripts’ portfolio of clinical interoperability solutions allow clinical care information — including clinical messages, immunization summaries, CCDs, referrals, discharge summaries and lab results — to be transmitted between doctors, practices and health systems locally and nationally across all technology platforms.
“As the healthcare landscape rapidly transforms with Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements and other care management imperatives, the need for clinical interoperability grows exponentially,” said Jeff Miller, senior vice president and general manager, Clinical Interoperability, Surescripts. “MEDENT’s addition of Basic Messaging and Communications substantially increases our network reach in the Northeast and helps us continue to improve connectivity and collaboration at the community level where healthcare happens.”
Surescripts Basic Messaging and Communications is based on Direct messaging protocols launched in 2010 by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) as part of the Direct Project to specify a simple, secure, scalable, standards-based way for participants to send authenticated, encrypted health information directly to known, trusted recipients over the Internet. Surescripts recently received full accreditation from the Direct Trusted Agent Accreditation Program (DTAAP), an accreditation program for health information service providers (HISPs). DTAAP is offered on a voluntary basis by DirectTrust, an independent non-profit association dedicated to securing the exchange of health information between providers and patients.
MEDENT joins Epic, GE, NextGen, NewCrop and several other EHR technology vendors that have connected to the Surescripts network. Surescripts’ clinical interoperability capabilities have the ability to connect to an eligible universe of 300,000 care providers in acute (hospital) and ambulatory (office practices) settings across the United States. The network supports all federal and state policies and standards for health information exchange, including privacy and security standards, technology interoperability standards, and message types.
About Surescripts
The Surescripts network supports the most comprehensive ecosystem of healthcare organizations nationwide. Pharmacies, payers, pharmacy benefit managers, physicians, hospitals, health information exchanges and health technology firms rely on Surescripts to more easily and securely share health information. Guided by the principles of neutrality, transparency, physician and patient choice, open standards, collaboration and privacy, Surescripts operates the nation’s largest health information network. By providing information for routine, recurring and emergency care, Surescripts is committed to saving lives, improving efficiency and reducing the cost of health care for all. For more information, go to www.surescripts.com and follow us at twitter.com/surescripts.