Cook Children's Health Care System Partners with athenahealth and Microsoft to Enhance Pediatric Patient Care

Cook Children's Health Care System, a leading children's health organization, has announced a collaboration with athenahealth and Microsoft to implement information technology solutions aimed at improving care and outcomes for pediatric patients nationwide. As a top-ranked children's hospital in the nation, Cook Children's is committed to its promise of improving the health of every child in its region through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease, and injury. The partnership will bring together the expertise of athenahealth, a leading provider of internet-based business services for physician practices, and Microsoft, the worldwide leader in software, services, and solutions.

Key Takeaways:

• Cook Children's Health Care System, a top children's hospital in the nation, has partnered with athenahealth and Microsoft to implement information technology solutions aimed at improving care and outcomes for pediatric patients nationwide.
• The partnership involves the implementation of athenahealth's 2008 CCHIT(R) Certified electronic health record (EHR) service, athenaClinicals(SM), and athenahealth's revenue cycle management service, athenaCollector(SM), for Cook Children's Physician Network (CCPN).
• Cook Children's will also implement the Microsoft Amalga Unified Intelligence System (UIS) 2009, a strategic data aggregation platform that will span multiple lines of business, including CCPN, Medical Center, and Health Plan.
• The partnership will enable Cook Children's to unify inpatient, outpatient, lab, radiology, and home health data, allowing clinicians to access real-time information from a single source.
• Patients will be able to connect with Microsoft HealthVault, an online personal health platform that allows individuals to store their health information or their family's health information in a security-enhanced location.
• athenahealth's EHR and revenue cycle management services will be made available to primary care physicians nationwide through athenahealth's national physician network, athenaNet.
• The partnership has the potential to improve both clinical and financial outcomes for patients and physicians across the country.

Statistics:

• Cook Children's Health Care System supports over 60 pediatric medical offices and specialty clinics throughout Texas.
• Cook Children's conducts over 258,000 specialty clinic visits, 472,000 pediatric office visits, and 99,000 emergency department visits annually.
• The partnership involves approximately 350 medical providers within Cook Children's Physician Network (CCPN).
• athenahealth has a national physician network, athenaNet, with over 1,100 affiliated physicians across 22 states.
• The partnership aims to improve care and outcomes for pediatric patients nationwide, with a focus on maximizing patient care through the integration of multiple data sources.

Sources:

• Cook Children's Health Care System press release
• athenahealth, Inc. press release
• Microsoft Corporation press release