Collaboration Will Provide Coordinated Care Through ‘Single Button Protocol'

By Julia Ernst, contributing writer

ENT Allergy and Associates, LLP, will integrate its EMR system with the system at Montefiore Medical Center to enhance the referral process and continuity of care.

ENT Allergy and Associates, LLP (ENTA), a practice with over 150 physicians that provides care to patients in both New York and New Jersey, has announced the integration of its NextGen electronic medical records (EMR) system with the EMR system at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, a partnership that will create a “single button protocol” to refer patients from ENTA to Montefiore.

The new EMR single-button protocol will enhance the referral process to address patient needs more effectively and ensure that medical records are transferred quickly and securely between facilities. ENTA physicians will now have the ability to submit a referral to a Montefiore physician through a HIPAA-compliant method of communication.

Doctors at Montefiore will be able to instantly receive diagnoses, relevant medical images, chart notes, and clinical descriptions of the reason for referral. This practice is in line with efforts that have been endorsed by the federal government to ensure more effective, efficient communication between hospitals and community doctors.

The clinical affiliation between ENTA and Montefiore is meant to advance pediatric care, according to a press release on the partnership. Pediatric patients in the Bronx and Hudson Valley regions in need of hospital care will have access to local ENTA offices and to Montefiore Medical Center. Patients requiring hospitalization will be admitted within 24-48 hours, according to the news release on the affiliation, and have access to coordinated care teams after the hospital stay to continue treatment and screenings.

ENTA provides services to patients in more than 40 locations. They treat asthma, audiology, general pediatric and adult ENT issues, and more. In the last half of 2014, the organization has upgraded its EMR system in preparation for ICD-10 and “meaningful use” measures.

Montefiore Medical Center is part of the Montefiore Health System, a network of six hospitals, an extended care facility, and other health centers. Montefiore Medical Center is the academic medical center and University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY.

SOURCE: PRWeb