Integration With Epic EMR to Increase Efficiency and Minimize Duplication of Patient Data
CHICAGO, Jan. 24, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Merge Healthcare Incorporated (Nasdaq:MRGE), a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare, today announced that Tampa General Hospital selected Merge’s CTMS for Investigators solution for enterprise-wide management of its clinical trials.
Tampa General Hospital’s goal was to increase efficiency and centralize their business operations. They sought a CTMS to manage more than 500 active studies annually across all therapeutic areas, and track study activities for over 100 study coordinators. Billing compliance, financial accountability, patient and enrollment tracking, and reporting for management oversight were all important criteria in selecting a CTMS system.
“With the continued growth of clinical trial activities, we needed a better way to streamline data collection and reporting, as well as a more accurate method for tracking billing activities. We had previously relied on data collected in spreadsheets and multiple databases, and a time-consuming process to produce reports,” said Beth Kohl, Manager, Office of Clinical Research at Tampa General Hospital. “We sought a CTMS that would centralize and organize our research operations to replace numerous manual and fragmented methods of capturing and recording data. After evaluating several CTMS systems, we felt that Merge CTMS provided us the standardization needed, as well as the reporting capabilities to meet our compliance, study and patient tracking, enrollment metrics, and financial requirements.”
The ability for the CTMS to integrate with an existing electronic medical record (EMR) system was also a priority for Tampa General Hospital, so users could have easy access to study patients from a centralized database used throughout the hospital.
“Another important factor in our decision was Merge’s vast systems integration experience,” continued Kohl. “A key component of this project will be an HL7 integration, allowing us to feed data from our Epic EMR into Merge CTMS. Through enhanced patient study searches and the elimination of duplicate data entry, this integration will yield significant efficiency improvement for research operations.”
“As an existing Merge Cardio™ and Hemo™ client, Tampa General Hospital was excited to expand their partnership with Merge. Tampa General Hospital expressed specific needs in looking for a CTMS system to consolidate and streamline their clinical trial management and research operations throughout the organization,” said Justin Dearborn, President of Merge Healthcare. “We’re pleased that Merge CTMS provides the opportunity to meet these needs using a highly intuitive interface for a wide variety of users who will access the application on a daily basis.”
Through enhanced productivity and business management tools, Merge CTMS for Investigators allows research organizations to centralize study information, organize research activities, and improve recruitment and financial performance. Merge CTMS scales easily from one to many sites, offering a comprehensive suite of CTMS tools for independent research sites, physician networks, SMOs, hospitals, health systems and academic medical centers.
About Merge Healthcare
Merge is a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare. Merge’s enterprise and cloud-based solutions for image intensive specialties provide access to any image, anywhere, any time. Merge also provides health stations, clinical trials software and other health data and analytics solutions that engage consumers in their personal health. With solutions that are used by providers and consumers and include more than 20 years of innovation, Merge is helping to reduce costs and improve the quality of healthcare worldwide. For more information, visit merge.com.
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About Tampa General Hospital
Tampa General is a private not-for-profit hospital and one of the most comprehensive medical facilities in West Central Florida serving a dozen counties with a population in excess of 4 million. As one of the largest hospitals in Florida, Tampa General is licensed for 1,018 beds, and with approximately 6,600 employees, is one of the region’s largest employers. For more information, visit tgh.org
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