110+ Health Care Providers Announce Plans To Use Advanced Medical Records Technology To Improve Care For Thousands Of Denver-Area Patients

DENVER, April 25, 2013 -- South Metro Primary Care (SMPC), one of the largest primary care independent practice associations in the Denver metro area, along with their medical management company Physician Health Partners (PHP), have announced plans to connect the electronic health records systems of its 118 primary care providers to the CORHIO health information exchange (HIE).

In partnership with PHP, SMPC is one of 32 Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) in the U.S., a federal program designed to improve quality and care coordination for more than 24,000 Medicare beneficiaries in the Denver area. Connecting to the HIE will allow the 118 primary care providers in 26 practice locations to quickly and securely access their patients' information from hospitals, other provider offices and public health departments, helping them to provide more proactive and higher-quality care.

Information available to qualified health care providers through the CORHIO HIE includes lab results, X-ray, MRI and other medical imaging reports, physician transcripts, referral information, hospital discharge reports and newborn screening results.

SMPC will initially focus on connecting their practices utilizing the Amazing Charts and Allscripts EHR platforms.  As the pilot progresses, more than 100 primary care physicians in SMPC on various EHR platforms will be connected to the HIE. 

"We are excited to be at the forefront of connecting health care providers to the HIE system to help improve the care coordination for our patients," said Gerald Brown, M.D., SMPC, board president and physician at Internal Medicine Southwest. "Making the investment to connect was a big decision for the board, but we think it's an important step for our providers and will ultimately benefit our patients."

The data provided through the CORHIO HIE will help the SMPC providers with care coordination initiatives that are imperative to their goals of accountable and patient-centered care. The HIE makes it easier for providers to proactively follow up with their patients after hospital or specialist visits, which helps prevent medical complications and avoidable hospital readmissions. For individuals with chronic conditions, such as heart disease, asthma or diabetes, well-managed care coordination is essential to avoid unnecessary complications.

"Primary care providers and their patients can benefit greatly from the use of health information exchange technology," said Larry Wolk, M.D., CORHIO's chief executive officer. "We are pleased to see that primary care providers, including those with the South Metro Primary Care group, are increasingly discovering value in the time-savings and cost-savings that CORHIO's services provide. On top of that, we know that each time a new physician practice connects to the COHRIO HIE network, it means that hundreds—or even thousands—of patients are receiving higher-quality, better coordinated health care. That is central to CORHIO's mission."

On a state level, there are currently 28 hospitals, 700+ office-based providers, 40 long-term and post-acute care facilities, four behavioral health centers and two large medical laboratories connected to the CORHIO HIE. CORHIO is also in the process of expanding its network of health care providers and is actively working to connect 12 additional hospitals, more than 900 additional office-based providers, 44 additional long-term and post-acute care providers, 2 large laboratories and eight behavioral health centers.

About South Metro Primacy Care (SMPC)
South Metro Primary Care (SMPC) is a primary care Independent Practice Association (IPA) comprised of family practice and internal medicine physicians. The physicians are located mainly in the southwest and east metro area. SMPC has been in existence since August 2007 and in March 2012 merged with another IPA, KEY Primary Care Physicians. SMPC elects a nine-member Board of Directors that meets regularly.

About Physician Health Partners (PHP)
PHP works with more than 370 primary care providers in the Denver metro area to help coordinate and improve the health of patients by providing the right care, at the right time and in the right setting. They are one of 32 Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations in the U.S. chosen by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to promote improved health outcomes while lowering the associated costs. Through their current contracts and partnerships, they provide health care services for approximately 155,000 patients within the Denver metro area Medicare, Medicaid and pediatric populations. PHP-affiliated physicians serve an estimated 600,000 patients. 

About CORHIO
CORHIO, the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization, is dedicated to improving health care quality for all Coloradans through health information exchange (HIE). As the state-designated entity for HIE, CORHIO collaborates with health care stakeholders including physicians, hospitals, clinics, public health, long-term care, laboratories, health plans and patients to improve care collaboration through secure systems and processes for sharing clinical information. CORHIO is a not-for-profit supported in part by grants, including awards from the Colorado Health Foundation and from federal ARRA HITECH funds. CORHIO's technical infrastructure is built on industry-leading HIE technology developed and maintained by Medicity. For more information about CORHIO, please visit www.corhio.org.