Advocate Health Care includes approximately 800 staff physicians and nearly 2,100 independent physicians within Advocate Health Partners, working in over 900 medical offices across metropolitan Chicago.
The agreement expands upon a successful pilot program involving 40 physicians within two divisions of Advocate Health Care.
Our physicians have demonstrated that, with Allscripts technology, they can deliver on the promise of providing high quality care more efficiently, said Jim Skogsbergh, president and CEO of Advocate Health Care. We are pleased to be able to extend the benefits of the electronic health record to more of our physicians as part of our ongoing effort to continually improve the quality and efficiency of care for our patients.
The web-based TouchWorks electronic health record (EHR) provides instant access to patient information and automates everyday clinical tasks such as prescribing medications and documenting patient visits, while connecting physicians electronically to laboratories, pharmacies, insurers and other key healthcare stakeholders.
The EHR also automatically tracks key patient outcomes, providing the information needed to improve the effectiveness of disease management, health maintenance, and care planning initiatives.
Initially, we were concerned that an electronic health record might slow us down or not fit into our workflow, said Dr Martin Doot, medical director of Illinois Professionals Health Program and an early Allscripts user at Advocate. While we had to make some adjustments to our processes, it was no more difficult than using a computer or iPod at home and the end result has been a faster process for us and better care for our patients.
Advocate Health Care will integrate TouchWorks with its Centricity Business (formerly IDX Flowcast) practice management system to directly link clinical and financial information across the network.
