Akron General Health System and McKesson have entered into a strategic agreement that expands the hospital’s ongoing initiative to boost patient safety, improve quality and enhance care coordination among healthcare providers in northeast Ohio.

Under the terms of agreement, Akron General has purchased Practice Partner, a fully integrated electronic health record (EHR)/practice management system and will offer this solution to its physician hospital organization and additional affiliated physicians in the community.

The EHR/practice management system, once installed, paired with the RelayHealth connectivity platform, will enable physicians to electronically document patient care, submit prescriptions and receive laboratory results.

Additionally, Akron General and physician practices will be able to electronically share clinical patient information, enhancing communication within the healthcare community. A local McKesson certified value-added reseller, Complete Healthcare Solutions, will provide implementation and support services for physicians implementing the Practice Partner solution.

The upgrade of Akron General’s existing healthcare information technology (HIT) systems will bring the hospital onto the latest release of McKesson’s Horizon Clinicals advanced inpatient solution suite. In addition to enhancements for existing systems, plans include new capabilities to enhance patient safety such as a computerized provider order entry (CPOE) system.

With CPOE, hospital physicians will be able to submit patient order requests electronically and provide accurate and timely communication regarding patient needs. In addition, Akron General is implementing business intelligence solutions that will empower it to make informed decisions to continually improve clinical, financial and operational efficiencies.

Jack Mitstifer, president of inpatient services at Akron General, said: “By expanding our partnership with McKesson, we are implementing all the right tools and connections to establish an ambulatory care center of excellence and make it easier than ever for the regional healthcare community to do business with us.

“We’ve made it a priority to ensure that our community healthcare providers will have the tools they need to be able to focus their time and attention on providing top-quality care and enhanced patient safety whether in the hospital or in their own physician practice. In addition, this initiative supports efforts to qualify for funding from the economic stimulus plan for both physicians and the health system.”