[an error occurred while processing the directive] [an error occurred while processing the directive]
[an error occurred while processing the directive]

NewsPress Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2012 

HHC Qualifies with Federal Government as ‘Meaningful User’ of Electronic Medical Records

HHC to Receive Nearly $200 Million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funding to be Reinvested Back Into Patient Care

All 11 city-run public hospitals have achieved full

New York, NY - The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) today announced that all 11 city-run public hospitals have achieved full "Meaningful Use" status of their electronic medical records (EMR) system and will begin receiving nearly $200 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds, which will be reinvested back into patient care. HHC’s EMR system features include electronic order entry to prevent drug errors, built-in computer prompts to guide best-practice care for each patient, and ways to use data to improve health outcomes and better manage patients with chronic diseases.

“HHC was an early adopter of electronic medical record technology and has won several national awards for the use of clinical information technology to drive improvements in care and reduce costs,” said HHC President Alan D. Aviles. “Electronic medical records enable safer and more effective clinical care, and they are an essential foundation for increasing efficiency and reducing costs.”

HHC has electronic medical records across all settings, from in-patient units to ambulatory care clinics. HHC’s electronic medical records have allowed for program alerts and strategically placed data fields that have helped guide evidence-based care, and have also helped facilitate coordination of care across the continuum of care. The EMR also has embedded depression screening aids, asthma action plans, Coumadin dosing safeguards, and deep-vein thrombosis prophylaxis guides, among other meaningful functionality. A data warehouse populated from the EMR has allowed HHC to run electronic chronic disease registries that have proven to be an effective tool in helping clinicians better manage diabetes and hypertension. As a result, all HHC facilities now qualify under the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s (NCQA) Diabetes Recognition Program as excellent providers of diabetes care.

HHC’s efforts have received national acclaim in recent years. Two of HHC’s healthcare networks – Generations Plus/Northern Manhattan (Harlem and Lincoln hospitals) and Queens (Elmhurst and Queens hospitals) – earned the coveted Nicholas E. Davies Award from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society for excellence in using electronic medical records to improve healthcare delivery. In addition, HHC President Aviles received the National CEO IT Achievement Award from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and Modern Healthcare Magazine for leadership in the use of information technology to advance healthcare excellence.

HHC has already begun to receive enhanced federal funding and eventually will receive approximately $120 million in incentive monies under the Hospital program and another $70 million under the Eligible Provider category for ambulatory care physicians. The designation of ‘meaningful use’ reflects HHC’s ongoing commitment to enhance patient safety and quality of care.

 


[an error occurred while processing the directive]
[an error occurred while processing the directive]
 [an error occurred while processing the directive]
[an error occurred while processing the directive]