Electronic Medical Records Aid Dr. Edward Rippel in Achieving Recognition in the Nation’s Foremost Quality Assessment Program
ORLANDO, HIMSS Conference, Booth #2311—February 21, 2011—eClinicalWorks®, a market leader in ambulatory clinical systems, today announced that Dr. Edward Rippel, owner of Quinnipiac Internal Medicine, P.C., of Hamden, Conn., has been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for achieving Level 3 Physician Practice Connections®-Patient-Centered Medical Home™ (PCMH) status, the highest level available. The practice model is designed to coordinate care in a primary care setting, where each patient has a one-on-one relationship with a personal physician, who provides continuous and evidence based comprehensive care. The personal physician leads a team of individuals who participate in the ongoing care of patients, including communication with other providers. This coordination takes place in a culturally and linguistically appropriate environment, helping to strengthen the physician-patient relationship, improving the quality of care that patients receive, and reducing avoidable costs through improved clinical outcomes.
“I have always been patient-centric in my approach, focusing on preventive medicine and chronic disease management,” said Dr. Edward Rippel of Quinnipiac Internal Medicine. “This philosophy facilitated the pursuit of PCMH status, allowing me to become the first solo practitioner in Connecticut to receive this recognition. The eClinicalWorks electronic medical records application is a powerful tool that afforded me the ability to achieve significant improvements in the quality of care I provide for my patients and to supply the documentation required for PCMH recognition.”
eClinicalWorks emphasizes preventive care and supports the medical home model of healthcare delivery through features including automated reminders and multiple modes of communication with patients. These elements of the software allow the provider to more thoroughly and efficiently address all of the patients’ health care needs. After installing eClinicalWorks in his office, Dr. Rippel’s success in controlling Diabetes to the nationally accepted goal, rose to 70 percent, while the national average in primary care practices for the period 1999-2004 was about 48 percent [Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994 and 1999-2004.]. Also, 98 percent of Dr. Rippel’s patients with cardiovascular disease are on appropriate antithrombotic medications (blood thinners such as Aspirin).
“By putting an emphasis on preventive care, PCMH holds great promise in improving the quality of patient care,” said c, CEO and co-founder of eClinicalWorks. “We work closely with our customers to ensure they have the tools needed for these types of programs, including features such as real-time clinical decision support and registry reporting. Being named a PCMH is a great accomplishment and we congratulate Dr. Edward Rippel on this achievement.”
Additional features in the eClinicalWorks application that support the goal of PCMH include the ability to capture demographics, coordinate referrals to other providers, e-prescribe, manage labs and x- rays electronically, compile a comprehensive electronic medical record spanning the continuum of care for every patient, as well as participate in local, regional and state-wide health information exchanges.
According to the NCQA Web site, PCMH “is a health care setting that facilitates partnerships between individual patients, and their personal physicians, and when appropriate, the patient’s family.”
To learn more about PCMH, visit http://ncqa.org/tabid/631/Default.aspx
