University Hospitals Selects Allscripts Electronic Health Record for 1,400 Physicians and Expands Sunrise™ Enterprise Acute Care EHR in Eight Hospitals

CHICAGO and CLEVELAND, Feb. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- University Hospitals (UH), one of the nation's leading healthcare systems, will significantly expand its deployment of Allscripts ambulatory and acute care solutions to enable caregivers throughout Northeast Ohio to collaborate for a team approach to patient care. The strategic agreement between the health system and Allscripts is expected to support University Hospitals' development of its Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model through which physicians and hospitals work together to coordinate patient care, improve quality and share in cost savings.

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Under the agreement, University Hospitals will deploy the Allscripts Electronic Health Record (EHR) to all 1,400 of its employed multi-specialty physicians across Northeast Ohio, and provide an exclusive endorsement of Allscripts EHR for independent physicians affiliated with the health system's 10 hospitals in Northeastern Ohio.  University Hospitals will expand its deployment of the Sunrise Enterprise suite of acute care solutions at the new UH Ahuja Medical Center, a state-of-the-art hospital opening early this year in Beachwood, OH, and upgrade existing Sunrise deployments in seven other hospitals.

The health system will utilize the Allscripts Community Solution to provide a unified patient record that can be shared by UH-employed caregivers and independent physicians, regardless of whether they use an Allscripts Electronic Health Record or an EHR from another company.

"We are excited to expand our relationship with Allscripts, the right partner to help us deliver on the UH promise of 'one patient, one record,' which we believe will improve patient safety and care across the communities that we serve," said Mary Alice Annecharico, Chief Information Officer for the UH health system. "This agreement expands our investment in the health of our communities with a single enterprise-wide clinical record and a secure method of collaborating with independent physicians for a team approach to patient care."

The agreement with Allscripts positions the physicians and hospitals of UH to qualify for federal incentive payments for Electronic Health Record adoption available under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). To qualify, hospitals and physicians must demonstrate their "Meaningful Use" of EHR, which automates many clinical tasks to minimize human error, and connects caregivers to each other and to labs, pharmacies, insurers and patients.

Agreement Reinforces Allscripts-Eclipsys Merger Strategic Rationale

Allscripts Chief Executive Officer Glen Tullman said the agreement with University Hospitals demonstrates the value of the recent merger of Allscripts and Eclipsys.  

"Our merger with Eclipsys was designed to help health systems like University Hospitals build a fully integrated network by giving providers in all settings – whether employed or independent – comprehensive, real-time access to vital patient information," said Mr. Tullman.  "We're proud that University Hospitals has expanded our partnership to deliver on that shared vision through our Sunrise 5.5 hospital solution, as well as our Enterprise Electronic Health Record and connectivity that lets independent physicians and UH hospitals form a truly connected community of health."

Personal Health Records; Automated Pay-for-Quality Reporting

University Hospitals will deploy Allscripts solutions to promote patient-physician communications and to streamline the laborious process of reporting quality outcomes to the government and other entities.

• The Allscripts Patient Portal. Patients can actively participate with their physicians and hospital to better manage their own health and wellness, including making appointments, retrieving test results, refilling prescriptions, and exchanging private messages with their physicians.
• The Allscripts Clinical Quality Solution (CQS). In addition to providing caregivers point-of-care clinical decision support, CQS automates the time-consuming process of participating in Pay-for-Quality programs such as the federal Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI).

Sunrise 5.5 Upgrade Strengthens UH Plans for "Meaningful Use"

By upgrading the seven hospitals currently using the Sunrise Enterprise suite to version 5.5, and adding UH Ahuja Medical Center, University Hospitals expects to qualify for Stage 1 of the federal EHR stimulus program, which took effect in January. All seven UH hospitals using Sunrise applications including Sunrise Pharmacy have met the Stage 1 electronic medication ordering requirement of 30 percent of unique patients and have exceeded  ARRA's Stage 2 medication order requirement of 60 percent of unique patients.  Overall, University Hospitals' physicians have achieved 87 percent CPOE adoption within three months of the activation.

"Allscripts has demonstrated that its CPOE system is capable of successfully managing the specific requirements for order entry and clinical documentation in our hospitals," said Jeffrey Sunshine, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer at University Hospitals. "The collaborative approach that Allscripts takes to the implementation process, combined with the success we have already achieved with their solutions, assures us that they will continue to be a great partner as we upgrade Sunrise in our hospitals and deploy the Electronic Health Record for our employed and affiliated physicians."

About University Hospitals

University Hospitals is one of the nation's leading health care systems, providing high-quality, patient-centered medical care at locations throughout Northeast Ohio. Committed to advanced care and advanced caring, University Hospitals offers the region's largest network of primary care physicians, outpatient centers and hospitals. The System also includes a network of specialty care physicians, skilled nursing, elder health, rehabilitation and home care services, managed care and insurance programs, occupational health and wellness, and the most comprehensive behavioral health services in the region. More than 24,000 physicians and employees constitute University Hospitals and its partnership hospitals, ranking it Northeast Ohio's second largest private sector employer. UH performs more than 4.5 million outpatient procedures and nearly 63,000 inpatient discharges annually. For more information, see www.uhhospitals.org

About Allscripts

Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX) provides innovative solutions that empower all stakeholders across the healthcare continuum to deliver world-class outcomes. The company's clinical, financial, connectivity and information solutions for hospitals, physicians and post-acute organizations are the essential technologies that enable a connected community of health. To learn more about Allscripts, please visit www.allscripts.com, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Get Connected with Allscripts at HIMSS

Visit our website to discuss the conference and find out more about the Allscripts booth #2241 (Hall A).

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements regarding future events or developments, our future performance, as well as management's expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans, estimates or projections relating to the future are forward-looking statements with 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, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what impact they will have on our results of operations or financial condition.

Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among other things: the possibility that the expected synergies, efficiencies and cost savings of the merger with Eclipsys Corporation ("Eclipsys") will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected time period; potential difficulties or delays in achieving platform and product integration and the connection and movement of data among hospitals, physicians, patients and others; the risk that the Allscripts and Eclipsys businesses will not be integrated successfully; competition within the industries in which we operate; failure to achieve certification under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act could result in increased development costs, a breach of some customer obligations and could put us at a competitive disadvantage in the marketplace; the volume and timing of systems sales and installations, the length of sales cycles and the installation process and the possibility that our 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; the outcome of any legal proceeding that has been or may be instituted against us; compliance with existing laws, regulations and industry initiatives and future changes in laws or regulations in the healthcare industry, including possible regulation of our software by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; the possibility of product-related liabilities; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; the implementation and speed of acceptance of the electronic record provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; maintaining our intellectual property rights and litigation involving intellectual property rights; risks related to third-party suppliers and our ability to obtain, use or successfully integrate third-party licensed technology; and breach of ours security by third parties. See our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010 and other public filings with the SEC for a further discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties applicable to our business. The statements herein speak only as of their date and we undertake no duty to update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or changes in expectations.

SOURCE Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.