Philadelphia Area Health Care Providers Recognized as Leaders in Transition to Electronic Health Records
Nine Philadelphia area medical practices were recognized at a ceremony hosted by the Pennsylvania Regional Extension & Assistance Center for HIT (PA REACH) for their leadership in the nationwide transition toward electronic health records (EHRs). These practices include:
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Elliot Internal Medicine
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Dr. Barry H. Burkhardt, DO
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Family Practice Counseling Network
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Urban Health Initiatives
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Philadelphia Health Associates - Adult Medicine
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Gateway Medical Associates
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Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
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Public Health Management Corporation
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Dr. Ambrose Peterman
The event was held on Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at the offices of the Public Health Management Corporation, Philadelphia, PA.
Officials from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), the Centers from Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Department of Public Welfare (DPW), and the PA eHealth Collaborative joined PA REACH in congratulating and honoring these physicians for their vision and dedication to improving patient care through the use of health information technology. Collectively, these nine practices serve over 133,500 patients in and around the Philadelphia area.
PA REACH is proud to welcome the providers from all nine practices into an exclusive group of leaders - the Meaningful Use Vanguard (MUV). MUV is an initiative of ONC, and is designed to honor, thank, and bring together clinicians like the nine practices honored at the PA REACH Meaningful Use Ceremony who have successfully made the transition to EHRs. MUVers (members of the MUV program) serve as local leaders and advisors in the nation’s transition toward an electronically-enabled health care system.
“On behalf of PA REACH, I congratulate all of these providers on this important distinction. Their experience is invaluable in helping clinicians take the necessary steps to transform from paper-based practices to electronically-enabled systems. We commend them for being at the forefront of EHR implementation, and hope their example will encourage other clinicians to follow in their footsteps,” said Anita Somplasky, PA REACH Executive Director.
Dr. Noble Jones, Chief Medical Officer at Urban Health Initiatives, participated in the ceremony as not only an honoree, but also shared his practice’s experience with transitioning to an EHR system. Urban Health Initiatives treats a large underserved population, and is often inundated with Medicaid patients. “We’ve been blessed to have providers in our practice who are willing to work for less money because they believe in our mission to help people, and they are passionate about what they do”, said Dr. Jones. “I knew the future of medicine was with electronic health records, but I felt that I did not have the time, and simply could not afford to take the next step.” Luckily, Urban Health Initiatives qualified for an $80,000 grant to purchase an EHR system due to their affiliation with the non-profit organization called Early Solutions. Inadequate training and limited funds to obtain outside advisors left the practice “flying by the seat of our pants”, said Jones. PA REACH soon stepped in and was able to provide no-cost, federally subsidized training and support which allowed Urban Health Initiatives to move from simply implementing their EHR, to effectively using the functionality of the system to improve care. According to Jones, “All of us are really excited about the electronic medical record and can’t wait to get to the next level.”
Anita Somplasky - PA REACH, Executive Director
Dr. Noble Jones - Urban Health Initiatives, CMO
Frank Killian - Public Health Management Corp.
Greg Homier - PA REACH East, Project Coordinator
Matthew McGeorge - Department of Public Welfare, OMAP HIT Coordinator
Honored providers and invited guests at the PA REACH East MUVer Ceremony
To view more photos from the PA REACH East MUVer Ceremony, please click here.