Primaris Press Release
| For immediate release: June 5, 2006 |
Contact: Matt Heger Primaris Communications Department (800) 735-6776, Ext. 136 |
Technology key to improved health systems
June 5 to 9 marks National Health Information Technology Week
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Today health experts from Primaris, which holds the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) contract for Missouri, called on physicians to adopt electronic medical records (EMRs) to improve health care quality and safety for all patients.
The call comes as health care and policy leaders such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Administrator Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, gather in Washington DC June 5 to 9 for National Health Information Technology Week to promote health IT adoption.
“Electronic records can streamline processes in doctors' offices giving patients faster, more effective treatments, and they can reduce costs by eliminating staff time needed to sift through paper-based records,” said Richard A. Royer, Primaris CEO. “In addition, EMRs include systems that help physicians ensure patients receive recommended care for treating chronic diseases such as diabetes.”
Royer is a member of the Missouri Health IT Task Force, a 14-member group force appointed by Gov. Matt Blunt earlier this year. The group is charged with assessing Missouri's health IT status, study costs of an interoperable system and identify potential funding sources.
Primaris is currently assisting about 80 Missouri physician offices interested in implementing EMR systems. The project is part of a national initiative called Doctor's Office Quality-Information Technology (DOQ-IT) that helps initiate EMR systems, particularly in small- and medium-sized physician offices.
– # # # –
MO-06-25-DOQ June 2006
This material was prepared by Primaris, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Missouri , under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ( CMS ), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy.