MCKESSON CORPORATION 
By Northeast Georgia Health System Chooses Paragon to Support Quest for Excellence Program March 03, 2013
Provider to modernize operations with McKesson's Top-rated HIS and Better Health 2020
ATLANTA, Feb. 28, 2013 - Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) will make the move to McKesson's Microsoft®-based Paragon® hospital information system (HIS) to support its ambitious Quest for Excellence program, aimed at driving process improvements and achieving better clinical, operational and financial outcomes. The 557-inpatient, 261-skilled nursing bed health system will implement the fully integrated, contemporary Paragon HIS to address the needs of its clinical, physician and financial staff.
The top-rated single-database platform, an integral part of McKesson's Better Health 2020™ strategy, is designed to enable better outcomes by reducing IT complexity and helping caregivers improve workflow. In addition, the HIS offers a competitive total cost of ownership by requiring less hardware and fewer IT resources, as well as eliminating the need to support and manage redundant data. Many hospitals and health systems select Paragon for its rapid time to value through its quick implementation process.
"The features and straightforward approach of the Paragon platform will help further our Quest for Excellence by aiding our clinicians in providing superior patient care while advancing continuous improvement and a streamlined IT infrastructure," said Allana Cummings, chief information officer, NGHS. "Just as importantly, our partnership with McKesson provides us with the expertise and access to the capabilities we'll need as we coordinate care in the community and enter into complex payment models under accountable care."
McKesson's Better Health 2020 strategy is designed to help providers maximize technology, reduce costs, improve quality and performance, coordinate care and manage complex payment models. These competencies complement the goals of the NGHS Quest for Excellence initiative. In keeping with that initiative, NGHS uses Lean Six Sigma strategies to help its organization improve its daily processes by streamlining workflow, reducing errors and decreasing wasted time and effort.
NGHS has long been recognized as a pioneer in quality of care. Most recently, its Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) was named one of America's 50 Best Hospitals for 2013, according to research released by Healthgrades®. To be recognized with this distinction, hospitals must have had risk-adjusted mortality and complication rates that were among the lowest 5% in the nation for a minimum of seven years. NGMC was also just named a 100 Top Hospitals® award winner by Truven Health Analytics (formerly the health business of Thomson Reuters) for 2013.
"Large healthcare organizations recognize the need to reduce the complexity of managing their systems and operations while improving patient outcomes and staff efficiency," said Jim Pesce, president, Enterprise Information Solutions, McKesson Technology Solutions. "With its move to an integrated HIS, Northeast Georgia has taken a very thoughtful approach to maximizing the value of technology for better business and better care."
About Northeast Georgia Health SystemNortheast Georgia Health System (NGHS) is a 557-inpatient, 261-skilled nursing bed not-for-profit community health system which serves almost 700,000 people in more than 13 counties across Northeast Georgia. With a medical staff of more than 500 physicians, NGHS offers a full range of healthcare services through its Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, three urgent care centers, a mental health and substance abuse treatment center, two outpatient imaging centers, two long-term care centers and outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy clinics. In addition, NGHS plans to build a new hospital in the greater-Braselton area. The site, a 119-acre healthcare village, called River Place, already includes a medical office building that houses numerous physician specialties: an urgent care center and outpatient imaging, lab and physical and occupational therapy services..
About McKesson CorporationMcKesson Corporation, currently ranked 14th on the FORTUNE 500 list, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We partner with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services.www.mckesson.com.
1Source: 2012 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Services report; December 2012, www.KLASresearch.com, © 2012 KLAS Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved.
PR Contact
Yancey Casey, McKesson
404-338-2468
yancey.casey@mckesson.com
|
distributed by
|
