Health IT Services Group (HITSG) will open an office for the development of nephrology-specific electronic health records (EHRs) using its “Acumen nEHR,” which allows nephrologists and their staff to access patient data via the internet while remaining HIPAA-compliant, according to a company press release. The office will be at the American Tobacco campus.
The company is actively recruiting IT professionals to fill the 45 new positions that will open at the campus’ Fowler Building, using the more than 12,000 square feet formerly occupied by GlaxoSmithKline.
HITSG was created by nephrologists to develop and deliver intuitive software tools to help other nephrologists run their practices better. It does this by streamlining access, storage and distribution of patient treatment information by helping them create an EHR system, according to the press release. The company is a unit of Fresenius Medical Care, a provider of renal services.
“EHRs allow nephrologists to improve quality of care and patient outcomes, increase practice flow efficiency, streamline the transition from paper to electronic records, prevent adverse drug events, improve financial performance, and achieve “meaningful use” government incentives,” according to davita.com.
Acumen nEHR has been certified as meeting the “meaningful use” requirement of the HITECH Act, which requires that healthcare providers must have appropriate and relevant EHRs up and running by the end of this year. Meeting this requirement allows nephrologists to receive up to $44,000 over the next five years $18,000 of which may be paid in 2011, according to HITSG’s web site.
Acumen nEHR works with “existing practice management software, including scheduling and billing programs, and interfaces with information from labs, dialysis units, pharmacies, and hospitals, bringing critical data into the patient’s primary EHR stored in the Acumen nEHR.
“We looked throughout the country for a market with a rich depth of tech professionals, high quality of life and world-class office space,” said Dana Hensley, president of HITSG, in the press release. “The amenities, the look, the feel, the central location, all helped us select the American Tobacco campus. We knew this would be a great place to house developers and attract new talent.”
“When CBC and Durham planned American Tobacco, we had companies like HITSG in mind,” said Michael Goodmon, vice president of real estate for Capitol Broadcasting Company, which owns American Tobacco. “HITSG embodies the spirit of innovation that we crave at American Tobacco Campus. They are developing cutting edge technologies to create products to not only move the ball forward on global needs such as electronic health records but also to save lives.”
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Deborah DiSesa Hirsch is an award-winning health and technology writer who has worked for newspapers, magazines and IBM in her 20-year career. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Jennifer Russell
