NEW ORLEANS – Crescent City Physicians, a multi-specialty practice in the greater New Orleans area, plans to implement an integrated electronic health records and practice management system linking its 12 ambulatory care practices.
Crescent City, a division of Touro Infirmary, has chosen the Intergy EHR by Tampa, Fla-based Sage Software Healthcare.
Dale Mertens, vice president of physician services at Touro Infirmary and president of Crescent City Physicians, said the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina spurred CCPI to make the jump to electronic health records.
"After Katrina, we saw how badly some practices were affected," he said. "We were lucky - CCPI's billing and financial systems were up and running within a week and a half, and our physicians began treating patients in mid-October."
"So many of our counterparts were devastated by the destruction, Mertens added. "It showed us the importance of electronic records, both clinically and administratively, from a disaster recovery standpoint."
While moving to electronic records was an easy decision, Mertens said choosing a vendor was a lengthy process. CCPI's physician evaluators assessed 12 electronic health records systems before settling on Sage's product.
"Electronic health records are an important tool toward helping us to continue to provide outstanding healthcare in an efficient manner," said Mertens.
CCPI will also adopt Sage's Intergy practice management system and the Practice Analytics business intelligence system for clinical and administrative data analysis.
"We value our long-term partnership with the team at Touro Infirmary's CCPI," said Sharon Howard, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Sage Software Healthcare. "The adoption of electronic health records is an important aspect of disaster preparedness."
