Press Releases
June 08, 2010
MCS Receives Surescripts Certification
------iPatientCare Passes Certification on Prescription Benefit, History, and Routing Messaging-----
Medical Communications Systems Inc., a leader in medical informatics, today announced that it has received Surescripts Certification. This certification ensures that the iPatientCare EHR software is able to send and receive electronic messages in accordance with the industry standards and that it is providing open choice for medication selection and dispensing location.
Additionally, iPatientCare EMR software of MCS passed the rigorous standards on patient safety, efficiency of the electronic prescribing process and ease of use by end-users.
The Surescripts Certification also concentrated on message format and workflow. In achieving this certification, MCS was responsible for modifying/building the electronic prescribing application in accordance with the Surescripts Implementation Guides (based on the NCPDP SCRIPT Standard) and qualitative requirements. Surescripts provided documentation and testing tools for MCS and conducted certification quality assurance to ensure all the requirements are met. MCS was responsible for development and testing of its application.
It was a thorough process, but as usual, the iPatientCare software proved its quality. From a prescription history perspective, achieving this certification means that iPatientCare is authorized to request and receive prescription history, eligibility, and formulary information from community pharmacies, payers, and PBM’s. Also, the software is certified to provide utilization summaries for the prescription benefit service.
As a Surescripts Solution Provider, MCS has certified software for all message types associated with Benefit, History and Routing services designed for ambulatory settings. From a Prescription Routing perspective, passing this certification means that the iPatientCare software has the ability to route new prescriptions and prescription renewal requests to community pharmacies and mail order pharmacies.
As President Udayan Mandavia stated, "We are very enthusiastic about this certification. The availability of this information at the point of care allows prescribers to determine the most clinically appropriate and cost effective medication for the patient." Additional advantages include tighter formulary compliance, increased generic substitution rates, less therapeutic duplication, enhanced data collection capabilities, greater control over routing of prescriptions, direct delivery of DUR messaging to prescribers.
E-prescribing through iPatientCare provides physicians with cost information on prescription options that allows them to better counsel consumers on which medications—including generics—will be safest and most affordable. Prescription history information informs prescribers not only what they have prescribed, but what other clinicians have prescribed. This crucial information is available to prescribers in real-time so that they can help patients avoid adverse outcomes such as drug-drug interactions. If such problems are detected, e-prescribing systems can automatically send prescribers electronic safety alerts before the prescription is sent to the pharmacy.
This information is provided to prescribers in real-time by PBMs and payers who have been certified to connect to the Surescripts network, which MCS is now a proud member of.
To learn more about the Surescripts Certified software of MCS, give us a call today at 1-800-741-0981.
May 12, 2010
iPatientCare Software- Saving Time, Money, and Lives
-------Overwhelming Statistics show that EMR Software Can Truly Save Lives------
Users of the iPatientCare software already understand the many benefits that this award-winning, CCHIT Certified 2011 software provides. Enhanced patient care, improved productivity, decreased costs, and adherence to best practices are just a handful of the advantages that healthcare practices that choose iPatientCare software get to experience. But did you know that this software can also save lives?
That’s exactly what recent studies indicate.
Using data on births and infant mortality already collected by the U.S. Government, and statistics on health care information technology adoption provided by the Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS), the researchers compared infant mortality in selected areas of the country where data was available (privacy laws limited that data pool) with the adoption of EMR’s and RIS’s in those same areas.
After correcting for a wide range of variables, the researchers came to the following conclusions:
- The adoption of EMRs by one additional hospital in a county reduces infant mortality by 13%.
- The average cost of the HIT used to save that baby is about $450,000.
- In the electronic prescribing study, at a single California hospital, the mean monthly adjusted mortality rate decreased by 20% after implementation of a computerized physician order entry system.
Another study conducted by Time Magazine, showed that EMR’s reduced cardiac deaths by 73% and can also help heart-attack patients stay healthy years later. By having linked records through iPatientCare software, physicians will now know about existing conditions that a patient has that that could alter their prognosis or if the patient missed an important diagnostic test.
As the President of MCS, Udayan Mandavia stated, “These findings are not surprising to us. Our software also has safety alerts built into it that draw attention to life threatening situations. By being able to track larger amounts of data than ever before, medical teams can track vital medical data without the need for costly and cumbersome voluntary studies.” Indeed, lives can be saved by following and analyzing diagnosis and treatment across a large group of patients and new solutions could be discovered through new found research data.
iPatientCare also enables the study of data from an entire population in ways not previously possible: allowing conditions to be analyzed to determine what treatments work and what do not, finding patterns of care that are more effective, and defining the cost-effectiveness of various techniques and approaches for optimal care.
When considering these facts, can your organization afford not to implement the iPatientCare software of Medical Communication Systems, Inc? Lives may just be depending on it.
To learn more about the CCHIT Certified 2011 software of MCS, give us a call today at 1-800-741-0981.
May 5, 2010
Stimulus Plan and EMR Year 2 Update
------The Boom in EMR’S is in Full Force and MCS is at the Forefront------
Doctors wondered when the time would come that EMR software would bring their offices into the future. On February 17, 2009, the date that the stimulus bill was passed, they got their answer as $19.2 billion was granted by the federal government to spur healthcare into the future by paying for the latest technology. The purpose was to create a revolution in the healthcare industry by providing doctor's offices and clinics with the software that will allow one click access to patient information. The revolution is in full force, and Medical Communication Systems Inc. is leading the charge.
MCS, a leading provider of integrated electronic health records software, allows doctors to have ultimate access to the patient's medical history and avoid the duplication of tests, medications and treatments. Through their iPatientCare software, the patient's medications, vital information, documents and all treatments received would be in one place for ease of access by the doctor treating them, and no more problems of reading physician notes and prescriptions.
The market for electronic medical record data transfer equipment and applications, valued at $575 million in 2008, is forecast to reach $1.6 billion in 2013, according to a study by research firm Kalorama Information. Increased use of EMRs and high-tech patient monitoring systems is a key piece of President Barack Obama's plan to fix the ailing healthcare system, because they have the potential to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction, provide cost savings and more efficient use of healthcare resources and reduce hospitalizations. President Obama even got an EMR of his own in 2010, as it was announced that the White House will be implementing their own EMR this year.
If EMR’s are good enough for the President, then they certainly should be good enough for your doctor’s office. Considering that penalties will begin in 2015 for providers that don’t demonstrate significant use of EMR’s by 2015, the time to implement your EMR is now!
To learn more about the CCHIT Certified 2011 software of MCS, give us a call today at 1-800-741-0981.
April 5, 2010
MCS announced today that it has joined the elite professional society - HIMSS - as a Gold Corporate Member. As a Gold Corporate Member, MCS now enjoys exclusive benefits of research, knowledge base, professional networking, and access to regional chapters of the Society. The thoughtful presentation from MCS on Using Certified EHR “meaningfully” was well received by other HIMSS Members and was appreciated for the insight it provided. MCS has also been working on developing a Whitepaper discussing the implications of meaningful use of EHR which would be published on HIMSS’s website.
February 5, 2010
At a company meeting with strategic marketing analysts and key Channel Partners, Kedar Mehta, CTO, MCS announced iPatientCare EHR for Apple’s iPad. “Serving Apple users has been our obsession and challenge! Primarily evolving business solutions give us little chance to work on Apple technologies. However, with a Web browser based product evolved around SOA gives us a great opportunity to relay our mission-critical application on Apple’s iPads”.
Company’s Chief Medical Director, Dr. Bartley, has been a great fan of Apple! In his strange but admirable style, he summarized the meeting by exclaiming, “My years of devotion to Apple has been recognized by MCS today!”
January 12, 2010
MCS announced an addition of 138 new contracts to its large base of installation. iPatientCare EHR is delivered along with an ePrescribing solution integrated with it, and hence, iPatientCare users are put on to SureScripts/RxHUB network when they are registered as iPatientCare EHR users. Having a CCHIT 2011 Certified EHR would also mean that all iPatientCare EHR users would be qualified for Stimulus incentives. MCS has formed a special Task Force under the leadership of its Chief Medical Director to advice and train iPatientCare users for utilizing EHR for interpreting and generating Meaningful Use reports.
December 21, 2009
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®) today announced that MCS-Medical Communication Systems,Inc. is conditionally CCHIT Certified® 2010 for its product, iPatientCare EHR 10.8 and meets CCHIT's Ambulatory Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Child Health criteria for 2011 Comprehensive certification.iPatientCare EHR is conditionally certified pending verification of advanced electronic prescribing capabilities.
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November 16, 2009
MCS announced today that it would be launching a comprehensive Electronic Health Record solution, repurposed for the needs of alcohol and drug abuse known as Chemical Dependency Health Record (CDHR). MCS successfully designed and developed this solution by repurposing its commercial-off-the-shelf product for the Brighton Hospital, Michigan.
Brighton Hospital is a 124 bed facility located in southeastern Michigan. It is one of the oldest alcohol and drug treatment centers in the country. It is the treatment facility preferred by those seeking a caring, compassionate, and comprehensive alcohol and drug rehab program.
CDHR is evolved using Microsoft technologies and best practices, and is one of the first implementations of a CPOE (Computerized Physician Order Entry) and eMAR (Electronic Medication Administration Record) solutions. The successful implementation of CPOE and eMAR modules along with the EHR at Brighton Hospital makes it a great success story and one among the top 3% of the hospitals in the country, if evaluated by HIMSS Analytics Study published in 2006-07.
MCS announced its plans to create a separate Strategic Business Unit for introducing and growing CDHR over a period of time. As per official release from MCS, such an arrangement would allow CDHR to grow and serve the specific market niche in the long-term.
July 6, 2009
Considering the strong needs of the market for an integrated EHR and Practice Management, MCS announced its plans to develop a unified solution using Microsoft .net technology. The proposed unified system would allow physicians offices perform eligibility verification of patients before providing care and also submit claims to payers. “iPatientCare EHR comes built-in with front-office modules for patient registration and scheduling, and hence, by adding a back-office module for billing and accounts receivable would complete the product suite to offer an end-to-end solution that would satisfy a typical doctor’s office.”, according to Shripal Shah, Senior Technology Officer at Medical Communication Systems, Inc.
April 4, 2009
MCS’s CEO, Udayan Mandavia was invited to present a paper on “Designing, Developing, and Implementing an Integrated EHR, CPOE, and eMAR based on Microsoft Technologies / Framework / Health Common User Interface in WPF by Brighton Hospital, Michigan”, along with Frank Sanzone, CIO, Brighton Hospital and Barb Shaw, Nursing Care Coordinator, Brighton Hospital at MS-HUG Tech Forum at HIMSS-2009, Chicago.
Brighton Hospital is a 124 bed facility located in southeastern Michigan. It is one of the oldest alcohol and drug treatment centers in the country. It is the treatment facility preferred by those seeking a caring, compassionate, and comprehensive alcohol and drug rehab program. Brighton selected MCS as its technology partner because of MCS’s reputation for its professional ethics and high performance standards, and its product – iPatientCare – known for its CCHIT Certification, TEPR Awards, and high customer satisfaction MCS was also willing to repurpose its commercial product, co-brand, and share the intellectual property rights.
The presentation evoked significant interest among Microsoft technology users attending MS-HUG Tech Forum and was received with exceeding enthusiasm as it introduced the innovative concepts from Microsoft for healthcare informatics. “MCS is committed to Microsoft technologies and innovations as part of its product development strategy” said Udayan Mandavia, “and hence, presenting at MS-HUG Tech Forum is both a matter of pride and satisfaction for me personally and MCS”.
Click Here to Download the Presentation
March 24, 2009
MCS announced termination of its agreement with HCS – Health Communication Systems, LLC. “The end of this couple of years of relationship gives us direct access to markets, end customers, channel partners, and business partners; which is a great relief and achievement both”, said Udayan Mandavia, President and CEO of MCS. “iPatientCare suite of products have always provided leadership in terms of technology innovations and functionality, and MCS plans to reestablish its supremacy within Ambulatory healthcare market space” says Kedar Mehta, Chief Technology Officer. He added that “we shall achieve this through multi-faceted development of our products in terms of technology architecture and pushing the envelop on functional enhancements”. MCS’s Chief Medical Director, John Bartley, MD was overjoyed with the developments and bubbling with enthusiasm announced “Watch out for MCS’s impact in healthcare transformation already a happening phenomenon!”