OREANDA-NEWS. January 24, 2013. GE Healthcare today announced the release of Centricity* Practice Solution 11, the next generation of its fully integrated EMR and Practice Management solution. With a dynamic search engine and one-click problem entry, Centricity Practice Solution simplifies the data entry required for medical providers to comply with new the ICD-10 coding requirements and reduces the number of clicks required to enter a problem by 75%. Combined with the ability to customize workflows, this new solution will help ambulatory practices adjust to healthcare reform and embrace new care models.

With the mandatory transition to ICD-10 codes in October 2014, US providers face a daunting challenge. While the new coding system has many benefits, including measuring the quality, safety and efficacy of care, it multiplies the ICD-9 dataset by a factor of five and will require a significant amount of training and effort for providers to successfully navigate. With today’s release of Centricity Practice Solution 11, GE Healthcare helps ease the transition to ICD-10 for its customers.

“I’m impressed with the mapping functionality between ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes,” said Dr. Jay Prakash from South Atlanta Medical Clinic. “When our practice has to go through the coding transition next year, the bulk of the learning curve will already be behind us. We are already making use of the one-click problem entry and the search functionality is exceptional.”

Both ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes come pre-loaded in the patient chart, and are delivered through a dynamic search engine, enabling providers to efficiently assign the diagnosis code. Additionally, the search engine uses an algorithm to both predict common search terms and map ICD-9 codes to ICD-10 codes using guidance from CMS where there is a one-to-one correlation, so providers can see the links between the two systems. Problem codes are fully searchable and, once the provider selects the appropriate diagnosis, correlating codes are automatically mapped to both ICD-9 and ICD-10, where there is a one-to-one match.

“The transition to ICD-10 represents one of the most significant changes to clinical documentation since EHR adoption. Providers that don't manage the transition well will face high levels of denied claims, delayed payments, inconvenience to patients and potentially legal exposure in the event that improper coding is audited,” said Judy Hanover, research director with IDC Health Insights. “Products that help ease the pain of the transition should do very well in this market.”

Robust features enable providers to spend more time with patients
Centricity Practice Solution offers enhancements in three key areas that help to improve clinical and financial productivity for ambulatory practices:

• Customizable: Centricity Practice Solution offers flexible workflows that providers can configure to mirror how their specific practice operates, thus reducing the amount of time spent on data entry. Additionally, CPS allows exceptional customization and decision support tools that enable efficient patient encounters.

• Progressive: In addition to the predictive search engine and one-click problem entry, Centricity Practice Solution includes a portfolio of pre-built reports and access to GE’s database of nearly 30 million de-identified patient records, so that providers can gather information to prepare to attest for Meaningful Use, benchmark clinical outcomes and adopt new care models like Patient Centered Medical Home.

• Interoperable: Centricity Practice Solution is available as a fully-integrated EMR/PM package, or either module can be configured to operate as a standalone solution. Centricity Practice Solution also has the built-in tools and forms that enable it to connect to virtually any hospital EMR or revenue cycle system, thus enabling providers to share data with multiple delivery networks in order to offer more coordinated, data-driven care.

“Centricity Practice Solution gives our customers a leg up on transitioning to ICD-10 coding standards,” said Mike Friguletto, vice president and general manager of GE Healthcare IT. “Our customers that choose to upgrade will be thrilled with the one-click problem entry and ability to continue to customize workflows. It’s truly a game-changer.”

*Registered trademark of General Electric Corp.