MDNews - Cleveland-Akron-Canton

B Y T H E T I M E Akron General Health System and Cleveland Clinic formally announced their intention to create a collabora- tive affiliation focused on coordinating their unique strengths to deliver health care of the highest possible quality to patients across northern Ohio, plan- ning of the technology infrastructure that would securely connect hundreds of clinicians throughout the region was well underway. Called MyPractice, the electronic health record (EHR) system used in every Cleveland Clinic location is a highly developed set of meaningful use-compliant capabilities provided by Epic Systems. The cooperative initiative presently underway will connect every member of the Akron General Health System Partners Physician Group (PPG) and all Cleveland Clinic providers, including privately practicing members of the Cleveland Clinic Community Physician Partnership's Quality Alliance, through the integrated ambulatory MyPractice EHR by the end of next year. The benefits to both providers and patients will be powerful, according to Benito Alvarez, MD, FACOG, MBA, CPE, JD, Senior Vice President, Physician Alignment, and President, Partners Physician Group. "The patient is at the center of every- thing our healthcare team does, and immediate access to information enables us to focus on what's most important — taking care of the patient," he says. "The Akron General/Cleveland Clinic initiative is creating a true 21st century practice environment in which clinicians of both organizations will contribute their special expertise to address the unique care needs of every patient they treat. If a patient receiving care from an Akron General physician needs a specialty procedure at Cleveland Clinic, that patient's information — health history, test results, and everything else — will be waiting for the patient to arrive. And the history of any patient who has ever been treated at Cleveland Clinic will be immediately available to Akron General physicians — right in their office — as soon as they are called upon to join that patient's care team." For patients, this modern healthcare model means that the expertise of a wide range of clinicians is available to meet their needs any time, virtually anywhere, according to Dr. Alvarez. For physicians, full access to all the information they need — when and where they need it — will save time, increase efficiency and support ongoing efforts to increase the quality and value of the care they provide. Implementation of the MyPractice system in A kron General physician offices is being conducted by a team of Cleveland Clinic and Akron General technology and clinical workflow profes- sionals. To ensure a smooth transition to the new system, the team is utilizing a process that is already familiar to the hundreds of physicians in private practice who use the MyPractice Community EHR system in their offices and to many members of the Cleveland Clinic Quality Alliance. Beginning with an analysis of each practice's culture and style, the MyPractice team works with provid- ers to align their electronic experience with practice operations. The team also conducts training for the clinical and office staff and will remain on-site for the first two weeks post go live to answer questions, provide supplemental education and address any unforeseen transition issues. "Years ago," concludes Dr. Alvarez, "choosing an EHR put a lot of pressure on physicians. Much of the technology was new; it was often unclear as to how a new system would impact a practice's workflow and productivity; and training and support, which are so important to success, could be a concern. But with the Cleveland Clinic team's years of experience implementing MyPractice for every kind of physician practice, and Akron General's technology and practice experts actually working as part of that coordinated team, our clinicians will get a level of service and support that will significantly contribute to their abilities to care for the health of their patients, their communities and their practices." As health care rapidly moves towards va lue-based, 'qua lit y, not qua ntit y' reimbursement, it will be imperative to easily extract data to demonstrate value to payers. "For that, you will need a powerful system," Dr. Alvarez says. "At Akron General, we are really pleased to facilitate this remarkable transition locally." For more information about the Cleveland Clinic Community Physician Partnership's Quality Alliance, please call 216-986-1277, or visit cccpp.org. For more information about the MyPractice electronic health record system for physicians in private pract ice, plea se call 216- 4 42- 04 40, or visit clevelandclinic.org/mpc. ■ to Connect Akron General Partners Physician Group RECENTLY ANNOUNCED AKRON GENERAL HEALTH SYSTEM/CLEVELAND CLINIC INITIATIVE INCLUDES TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED, COLLABORATIVE CAPABILITIES. Benito Alvarez, MD New Electronic Health Information System 2 0 1 5 J U LY/AU G U S T ■ M D N E W S . CO M ■ MD NEWS Cleveland/Akron/Canton | 9

• Cover