RI group receives HIMSS Davies Award

A Rhode Island medical organization with 19 locations across the state has been awarded the 2012 Ambulatory HIMSS Davies Award of Excellence presented by the Health Information Management & Systems Society.

Coastal Medical, a physician-owned, physician-governed group founded in 1995, provides predominantly primary care services to 105,000 adult and pediatric patients, who comprise 10 percent of the Rhode Island population. In 2006 and early 2007, Coastal implemented a fully integrated EHR in every office. The introduction of clinical quality measurement and reporting, and later patient-centered medical home (PCMH) practice transformation, with all of its attendant changes in provider roles and office workflow, were experienced by providers as improvements in the delivery of clinical care that were enabled by EHR technology. Coinciding with completion of the EHR adoption in early 2007, Coastal entered into its first pay-for-performance contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, which included meaningful financial incentives for achievement of first generation clinical quality targets.                                                                                                                       

Coastal Medical will be recognized at the 2013 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans.