Vt. practice awarded HIMSS ambulatory Davies award

A Vermont family practice is the recipient of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's (HIMSS') 2013 Ambulatory HIMSS Davies Award of Excellence, which recognizes excellence in health IT, particularly for the use of EHRs to successfully improve quality of care and patient safety while achieving a demonstrated return on investment.

White River Family Practice  (WRFP) in White River Junction, is a rural independent ambulatory care practice staffed with six family physicians, three family nurse practitioners and a support staff of 14. The practice provides care to approximately 12,000 patients, most of whom reside in rural Vermont and New Hampshire. While using paper medical records, WRFP recognized the need to improve clinical care without losing the close and personal connection with individual patients, prompting the implementation of a fully integrated EHR. Through the utilization of EHR-enabled workflows and order sets designed to deliver guideline-recommend care, and the creation of an EHR-supported collaborative environment designated a “Clinical Microsystem,” WRFP achieved significant improvement in the quality of care for patients with chronic conditions like ischemic vascular disease, asthma and diabetes. The EHR also was leveraged to significantly improve smoking and alcohol cessation intervention with their patient population. As result of these EHR-enabled quality improvements, WRFP has received certification as a Level III Patient Centered Medical Home by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

“White River Family Practice has used the EHR technology platform to support a unique, quality focused care delivery environment where every staff member works collaboratively to deliver evidence-based, high quality care and produce measurable improved patient care outcomes,” says John Bender, MD, chair, Davies Ambulatory Committee, and medical director of Miramont Family Medicine, in Ft. Collins, Colo., in a release. “All of us on the Davies Ambulatory Committee congratulate the White River Family Practice staff for their focus on improving the quality of healthcare delivery with the best use of health IT.”                                                                                              

White River Family Practice will be recognized at the 2014 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition in Orlando next February.