Torrance Hospital Independent Practice Association, a Los Angeles-based IPA, has launched a new online platform for data exchange.
The implementation is part of an agreement with SynerMed, a manufacturer of IT solutions for health systems, which is also based in Los Angeles.
The platform is designed to increase the level of interoperability the IPA can achieve within its practices. THIPA expects that with the new platform, it will be better able to communicate with its physicians, employees and medical directors through a secure, integrated system.
With the implementation of this new Web portal THIPA expects to be more connected to its physician practices, said Joanne Moser, chief operating officer of THIPA. The IPA looks to improve workflows between physicians, medical directors, and administrative employees by increasing access to patient data.
“The new Web portal will be used primarily for communication with our physicians,” said Norman Panitch, president of THIPA. “Right now medicine is practiced pretty haphazardly, and through this new Web platform, THIPA will be able to oversee and coordinate care with our physicians.”
“This type of online system could be one to use as a model for the future,” Panitch concluded.
THIPA was founded in 1985 with the idea of allowing practice physicians to care for patients covered under health maintenance organization plans. These are group health insurance plans provided to patients through a group of doctors that work directly for an HMO. THIPA has since grown to encompass 157 primary care physicians and 258 specialists and provides care to more than 57,000 patients.
Each physician associated with THIPA will have access to the online platform SynerMedConnect via a new Web site and be able to access patient records and other patient data to improve safety reduce cost. Other features that will be made available to physicians include inbound and outbound fax services, claims scrubbing technology and healthcare management reporting solutions.
This new technology will provide the “backbone” of THIPA’s IT capabilities. The technology THIPA has already implemented and is using will act as supplements to the new Web portal.
With the introduction of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the terms of “meaningful use” including interoperability as a key definer, the IPA expects the new platform will help it garner stimulus money earmarked for healthcare providers.
“Before this implementation, THIPA was on an island because providers can’t interact with specialists in light of different systems being run at these organizations,” said Darren McLachlan, director of IT for SynerMed.
With the deployment of the online solution, THIPA is gearing up for a full EHR implementation.
