McKesson Salutes Top Healthcare Performers With 2004 VIP Awards
ATLANTA, GA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 07/12/2004 -- McKesson today announced the winners of its 2004 VIP Awards for outstanding performance in the use of healthcare information technology. The fourth annual McKesson VIP Awards honor six healthcare organizations that exhibit vision, innovation and performance in the use of information technology to achieve results in core healthcare processes such as clinical outcomes, staff productivity and operational efficiency. This year, McKesson introduced a new category to recognize excellence in medication management.
Each VIP Award winner receives a $10,000 donation from McKesson to its foundation or charity of choice. Factors considered in the judging process include improvements in patient and medication safety, productivity, physician/clinician IT adoption, revenue management and resource utilization/planning.
"The challenges facing healthcare organizations are monumental today, requiring exceptional focus and planning to maintain the highest-quality care," said Jay Deady, vice president of marketing, McKesson Provider Technologies. "We believe it's important to recognize organizations that have innovatively used IT to make a significant impact on their organizations and the communities they serve."
Chosen by an independent panel of judges, the 2004 VIP Award winners are:
Methodist Medical Center of Illinois, Peoria, Ill. -- Earning accolades as the first VIP Award winner in the Medication Management category, Methodist has used multiple Horizon Clinicals™ applications and other McKesson solutions to significantly reduce medication errors. All nursing units in the medical center use bar-coding technology for medication administration to verify the "five rights" -- right patient, right drug, right dose, right route and right time. Methodist has seen a 50 percent reduction in medication errors by establishing consistent processes and linking all patient encounters across care settings and disciplines. Additionally, 100 percent of Methodist clinicians now document medication administration the same way, and patient information is always available when and where it's needed.
A special Citation of Merit was presented to Dupont Hospital, Fort Wayne, Ind., for significant achievements in medication management. By using bar-coded medication administration, point-of-care documentation, centralized pharmacy information management and robotic drug dispensing, Dupont has achieved greater than 80 percent compliance with bar-code scanned medications throughout its inpatient areas.
Good Samaritan Hospital, Vincennes, Ind. -- After identifying opportunities for improvement in six different clinical areas, a core team of nursing representatives designed new processes using McKesson's Horizon Expert Documentation™ solution. Caregivers use the electronic tool to efficiently assess patient status, then document and review patient data at the point of care, which dramatically improved its regulatory compliance. Good Samaritan has achieved 100 percent auditing of patient charts, essentially in real-time, which provides clinicians with prompt feedback while patients are in the hospital. The award-winning entry also cited improved clinical accuracy, better outcomes and greater operational efficiency. According to the hospital, the biggest benefit is more time spent with patients, and much less time on paperwork and missing documentation.
Baptist Health Systems, Jackson, Miss. -- Baptist Health Systems received its award for the adoption of Horizon Patient Folder™, which uses document imaging to create an electronic medical record. Patient records are now more accessible to authorized clinicians and health information management staff. Physicians access clinical information online and review and sign patient charts electronically using McKesson's physician portal. Chart delinquencies have decreased from a high mark of 50 percent to just 10-12 percent. Within six months of implementation, key fiscal metrics also showed major improvement. Days not final billed dropped from $7 million to $3 million, and accounts receivable days declined from 64 to 57, which reduced the average outstanding balances due by $1 million a day.
Solaris Health Systems, Edison, N.J. -- Solaris was rewarded for its organizational accomplishments in implementing numerous Horizon Clinicals solutions as part of a major patient safety initiative. Using McKesson's Program Management Services and a clinical consulting team to redesign processes, many Solaris physicians adopted IT solutions into their daily workflow within the first two months of implementation. Within a year, more than half of the physicians were actively using the technology. A physician portal used to review electronic medical records was enthusiastically embraced by doctors who had never used a computer before, including an elderly surgeon who now evaluates patient information online more than 50 times a week. In addition, nursing documentation time and costly surgical supply purchasing have been reduced. A pharmacy automation plan using McKesson's robotic drug dispensing system improved accuracy rates to nearly 100 percent, and lost medication orders from nursing units were eliminated.
The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada -- The Ottawa Hospital implemented a multi-campus picture archiving and communications system (PACS) using McKesson's Horizon Medical Imaging™, allowing it to become a filmless healthcare organization. Now the 1,500 practicing physicians and radiologists don't have to wait on films to arrive from other departments for manual readings. The images they need for patient diagnosis are available instantly on high-resolution displays, whether it's in one of the 40 campus operating rooms, in an office or at home. The reduction in film costs has saved $572,000 ($754,000 CDN), and exam volume has jumped 37 percent, significantly above what hospital executives had targeted.
Alacare Home Health & Hospice, Birmingham, Ala. -- Alacare received its VIP award for its "Journey to a New Horizon" campaign. Using McKesson's Horizon HomecareTM solution, Alacare manages resources more efficiently and has virtually eliminated paper by documenting patient care on laptop computers and using a telephone reporting system. With an electronic patient chart, field nurses and home care aides enter their patient care regimens, medications, charges, time and travel information and sign documents digitally, eliminating a separate set of time-consuming, paper-based administrative tasks. Alacare has seen a 50 percent decrease in emergency care for improper medication since 2002 and saved $2.5 million through increased efficiencies.
About McKesson
McKesson Provider Technologies is part of McKesson Corporation, the world's largest healthcare services and information technology company. McKesson is a Fortune 16 healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes and improving the quality and safety of patient care. Over the course of its 170-year history, McKesson has grown to provide pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, physicians, homecare and payors; hospital and retail pharmacy automation; and services for manufacturers and payors designed to improve outcomes for patients.
Source: www.marketwire.com |
