Leading laboratory revolutionizes traditional services via cloud technology to help medical practices achieve multi-system integration, data exchange and reform initiatives
LAS VEGAS—HIMSS Annual Conference—4medica booth #449, Feb. 20, 2012—In a bold move that recognizes the need to augment its core lab services to help physicians address health reform and other challenges, TriCore Reference Laboratories today announced selecting 4medica to drive lab and patient data integration, interoperability and connectivity. TriCore will offer the 4medica Ambulatory Cloud Integrated Electronic Health Record (4medica iEHR®) to approximately 4,700 physicians practicing medicine in the state of New Mexico, many of whom work in rural areas lacking advanced technology.
TriCore is an independent, full service reference laboratory serving hospitals, physicians and their patients throughout New Mexico and the Southwest. Through its sponsors, The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center and Presbyterian Healthcare Services, TriCore provides state-of-the-art laboratory testing, anatomic pathology, and consultative services. 4medica’s certified iEHR solution’s bi-directional connectivity and seamless data exchange capabilities position reference labs and practices to navigate the economic and governmental changes responsible for driving connected healthcare.
“We have an urgent need to replace numerous legacy systems that are difficult and costly to interface, maintain and use,” said Jessie Salk, CEO of TriCore. “We chose 4medica because their iEHR is at the forefront of truly integrated SaaS health record technology. The solution’s combined lab automation and medical record features best met our changing business needs and vision to evolve our services to the next level of excellence. We expect 4medica’s iEHR to enhance the physician experience ordering tests and receiving results, streamline billing processes, obtain higher quality information, and monitor and analyze data in near real time—all of which vastly contribute to improved patient care and outcomes.”
Rapid adoption of EHRs and looming health reforms including the phased roll out of Meaningful Use, the shift from fee-for-service to value-based purchasing and pay-for-performance payment programs such as accountable care organizations (ACOs), and the proliferation of health information exchanges (HIEs) are also contributing factors to TriCore’s urgency in upgrading its lab service approach.
“As a local partner and solution provider to physicians, we actively seek innovative ways to meet their patient care needs through our quality laboratory test results and technology along with Meaningful Use requirements and compliance with government regulations,” said Salk. “Because physicians are extremely busy professionals, our goal is to give them back at least 15 minutes of their day. And to survive the seismic structural shift that is coming, we must provide additional value by giving practices the ability to interface their electronic records with 4medica’s iEHR lab module and to obtain a complete comprehensive EHR with the same product.”
“We are excited to partner with one of the nation’s visionary organizations pioneering a new era of reference laboratory customer service where physicians consider EHRs an important part of their daily workflow,” said Oleg Bess, M.D., 4medica’s CEO. “We look forward to a long partnership with TriCore in supporting our joint mission to convert physicians from low-level EHR users to efficient, sophisticated users, which will increase the likelihood of quality improvements and financial rewards.”
About TriCore
Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Albuquerque, TriCore Reference Laboratories leads the Southwest in providing comprehensive laboratory information of exceptional quality and value. Leadership is achieved by dedicated people who support innovation, advanced technology, customer service, education and research. TriCore offers more than 1,500 laboratory tests ranging from routine (such as cholesterol screens) to highly specialized (such as genetic testing), and operates more than 50 satellite centers throughout New Mexico and the Southwest. Through its commitment to quality, TriCore is one of only 18 labs in the United States, and the first-ever multi-site laboratory, to meet the rigorous requirements of CAP 15189SM. TriCore participates in scientific research through collaboration with the University of New Mexico and numerous national and international biotech firms. For more information, please visit www.tricore.org.
About 4medica
4medica provides the industry’s leading cloud SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) clinical integration platform, the 4medica Integrated Electronic Health Record (4medica iEHR®), to help healthcare organizations of diverse types create a seamless view of the patient care experience and drive EHR adoption. The intuitive iEHR platform design integrates with and builds upon disparate systems to facilitate interoperable data exchange across various care settings to promote care continuity. The cloud computing model is scalable, lower cost, maintenance-free, easy to use and deployable in a few months or less, eliminating large capital outlays or resource utilization. This is especially critical for small community and rural hospitals and physician heath organizations of all types and sizes striving to qualify for ARRA incentives and to demonstrate Meaningful Use. 4medica connects 100-plus institutional facilities including hospitals, health systems, physicians, laboratories and radiology and pathology clinics, and its products are used by more than 30,000 physicians. For more information, visit http://www.4medica.com.
