Ingenix CareTracker Enables EMR Adoption for As Little As $5,000

* Low-cost, web-based EMRs help health care providers improve care and benefit from stimulus incentives
* Intuitive CareTracker design requires minimal training for operation

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. – Ingenix, a leader in health information solutions, offers a simple, cost-effective and easy-to-use electronic medical record (EMR) that, when combined with financial incentives from the economic stimulus package, overcomes common barriers cited by physician practices. Widespread EMR adoption is a key component of the Obama administration’s health reform strategy to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes. The Congressional Budget Office projects that stimulus incentives will encourage up to 90 percent of U.S. physicians to adopt EMRs by 2019.

Unlike traditional client/server-based EMRs, which require large up-front investments in hardware, software and implementation fees, Ingenix CareTracker EMR offers a low-cost alternative without sacrificing functionality, security or physician productivity. Physicians access Ingenix CareTracker EMR through a secure Web interface, which connects their practice to a network of labs, partner physicians and hospitals. It is simple to deploy and use with a pay-as-you-go monthly subscription fee. For as little as $5,000 per year, a single-physician practice can start using Ingenix CareTracker EMR with just four hours of physician training and six hours of office manager training.

Using a Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT)-certified EMR, such as Ingenix CareTracker EMR, will likely help physicians qualify for the highest level of Medicare reimbursement incentives outlined in the HITECH Act, a part of the stimulus package. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is expected to release EMR standards at the end of 2009.

“CareTracker helps us improve care by making all patient data available to clinicians, regardless of location, and reducing turnaround time for lab results from days to hours,” said Dr. Pablo Rodriguez, president and CEO of Women’s Care, a multi-site OB/GYN practice in Rhode Island. “CareTracker is also helping us increase reimbursements in a pay-for-performance program by capturing and reporting on quality measures across our five clinics. Less than a year after transitioning to CareTracker, we’ve seen a tremendous return on our investment.”

Web-based network solutions support wider access to EMRs by overcoming the key barriers to adoption cited by doctors working in practices with 10 or fewer physicians – a group that represents 75 percent of all U.S. doctors according to a July 2008 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Those barriers include implementation cost, finding an EMR that meets their needs and the risk of a negative impact on physician productivity due to the technical complexity of traditional solutions.

CareTracker has built-in monitoring capabilities to track physician compliance with pay-for-performance standards, enabling physicians to be rewarded for their performance without any additional administrative overhead.

“CareTracker helps me spend more time with patients and access comprehensive medical information at the point of care,” said Dr. John Flores of Trumbull Medical Practice, a one-physician medical practice based in Trumbull, Conn. “We’re now on track to achieve a five-year cumulative net savings of nearly $225,000 due to CareTracker’s low monthly licensing fee and our increased per-patient revenue.”

“A network EMR is the logical choice for physicians practicing outside of large hospitals and medical groups because it can offer high functionality with relatively low investment,” said Bill Miller, executive vice president of provider solutions at Ingenix. “Network EMRs like CareTracker also support evidence-based medicine and pay-for-performance initiatives by simplifying the exchange of clinical data and quality measurement analysis. In addition, we can deploy the solution to a physician for an amount well under the targeted cost-levels set aside in the stimulus.”