Coastal Medical Inc., Selected as 2012 Ambulatory HIMSS Davies Award Winner

CHICAGO (October 18, 2012) – HIMSS honors Coastal Medical, Inc., located in Providence, R.I., as the winner of the 2012 Ambulatory HIMSS Davies Award of Excellence. Since 1994, the Nicholas E. Davies Award recognizes excellence in health information technology, specifically excellence in use of the EHR to successfully improve quality of care and patient safety.

The Ambulatory HIMSS Davies Award of Excellence  recognizes the most exemplary implementations and utilizations of EHR in independent ambulatory practices, community health clinics/organizations, and enterprise clinics. The award requires that staff in the healthcare system applying for the award to assess and document their progress and accomplishments against a framework for thinking about the process of implementing an EHR.

The 2012 Ambulatory HIMSS Davies Award of Excellence winner is a physician-owned, physician-governed medical organization founded in Providence, R.I., in 1995. Coastal employs 91 providers in 19 offices across the state, and provides predominantly primary care services to 105,000 adult and pediatric patients, who comprise 10 percent of the Rhode Island population.

In 2006 and early 2007, Coastal implemented a fully integrated EHR in every office. The introduction of clinical quality measurement and reporting, and later Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) practice transformation, with all of its attendant changes in provider roles and office workflow, were experienced by providers as improvements in the delivery of clinical care that were enabled by EHR technology. Coinciding with completion of the EHR adoption in early 2007, Coastal entered into its first Pay-for-Performance contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI), which included meaningful financial incentives for achievement of first generation clinical quality targets.

“Coastal has used the EHR technology platform to establish a strong foundation on which to deliver evidence-based, high quality care and produce measurable outcomes,” says John Bender, MD, chair, Davies Ambulatory Committee, and Medical Director, Miramont Family Medicine, in Ft. Collins, Colo. “All of us on the Davies Ambulatory Committee congratulate Costal Medical Inc. for its focus on improving the quality of healthcare delivery with the best use of health IT.”

Coastal Medical Inc., will be recognized at the 2013 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans, La. on March 3-7, 2013.  For more information on applying for the HIMSS Davies Awards of Excellence, visit the HIMSS website.  Applications are accepted throughout the year.

About HIMSS

HIMSS is a cause-based, not-for-profit organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded 51 years ago, HIMSS and its related organizations are headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. HIMSS represents more than 44,000 individual members, of which more than two thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations. HIMSS also includes over 570 corporate members and more than 170 not-for-profit organizations that share our mission of transforming healthcare through the effective use of information technology and management systems. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare practices and public policy through its content expertise, professional development, research initiatives, and media vehicles designed to promote information and management systems’ contributions to improving the quality, safety, access, and cost-effectiveness of patient care. To learn more about HIMSS and to find out how to join us and our members in advancing our cause, please visit our website at www.himss.org.

   

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