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Hewlett-Packard, Intel and McKesson have launched an infosite as part of WebMD’s Medscape network to provide resources for physicians on how to implement electronic medical records.
The companies also introduced a public microsite, PracticeReadyEHR.com, to provide the tools physicians need to comply with requirements for McKesson Provider Technologies, told eWEEK.
The Websites show physicians how to satisfy five out of 10 meaningful use objectives under the government’s guidelines.
For the information site on Medscape, HP contributed a white paper on physician readiness for electronic health records, Intel offered articles on the physician workflow, and McKesson posted EMR customer case studies, Semones said.
“This collaboration is focused on helping physicians educate themselves on key components of the HITECH Act, evaluation criteria for EMR solutions and which technology components are critical to achieving meaningful use,” Jared Quoyeser, Americas healthcare industry manager for Intel, wrote in an e-mail to eWEEK.
“We joined forces to reach physicians where they are most actively going online, and that is Medscape,” Lisa Baker, HP director of public sector and health care marketing, told eWEEK. For HP, a key impetus in participating on the Medscape site was to show physicians how to digitize their records, she said. Baker says the companies plan to update the content quarterly.
The 175-year-old McKesson describes itself in its company profile as the “nation’s oldest and largest health care services company.” It has applied to become a certified EMR provider under the meaningful use guidelines. According to Semones, EMR providers must become certified by one of three bodies: CCHIT (Certified Commission for Health Information Technology), Drummond Group or InfoGard.
McKesson, which provides software and medical supplies for health care providers, also runs a Website called AchieveHIT that helps physicians keep track of how to meet meaningful use requirements.
According to Semones, WebMD came up with the idea for the informational site and then approached McKesson.
“The purpose is to deliver education and rich content to providers and get more information on the solutions that organizations bring to market,” Semones explained.
PracticeReadyEHR.com also includes a calculator to show providers how to access government stimulus money, Semones added.
David Henriksen, McKesson’s senior vice president and general manager of Physician Practice Solutions, noted that 85 percent of health care services are delivered to outpatients, and the EMR informational sites are targeted to outpatient providers. “What we were trying to do is create streamline solutions for the small-practice environment,” Henriksen told eWEEK.
“To be automated and certified in meaningful use, we felt that we needed things like networking and devices, so we went out to the right partner and portfolio,” Henriksen said.
The parties, which have worked together for six months, described the joint effort as a turnkey solution. “We’ve been working for the last six months building the products and solutions to prepare us to be able to launch this site,” Baker said.
HP, Intel and McKesson have also collaborated on three EMR solutions: PracticePartner, MediSoft Clinical and LytecMD. For these platforms, HP provides the desktops, notebooks and tablets; Intel the processing power; and McKesson the EMR software. “It includes the hardware, the application software, the setup, the delivery and the financing piece around delivering a turnkey solution,” Baker said.