OREANDA-NEWS. March 06, 2013. McKesson announced that the Bread of Healing Clinic of Milwaukee, Wis. is the first recipient of its McKesson Practice Choice™ electronic health record (EHR) software as part of the McKesson Gives Back initiative.

The clinic will be able to use the new EHR system as part of its focus on delivering higher-quality care to uninsured patients across three locations in Milwaukee.

Launched in November 2012, the McKesson Gives Back initiative is designed to recognize and reward physician practices who provide unreimbursed healthcare to America's neediest citizens. In the spirit of one good deed deserves another, selected physicians will receive a free 26-month license to the McKesson Practice Choice software. In total, McKesson expects to award worth more than \\$1 million in software licenses.

"We are honored that McKesson chose our clinic as a recipient of the McKesson Gives Back program," said Barbara Horner-Ibler, medical director of the Bread of Healing Clinic. "We know the benefits of having an EHR, but our non-profit clinic could not justify making that investment. Having the McKesson Practice Choice EHR will transform our clinics and how we care for our patients."

Opened in 2000, the Bread of Healing Clinic provided care for 126 patients in its first year. Now, 12 years later, the clinic has grown to serve more than 1,400 uninsured patients who have chronic illnesses. The clinic offers primary care as well as specialist care in areas such as cardiology, podiatry, neurology, nephrology, physical therapy and dentistry. Bread of Healing Clinic's growth coupled with the increasingly dynamic and evolving healthcare industry has presented clinic personnel with many challenges, making McKesson Practice Choice a welcome addition to the practice.

"Our volunteer providers have been struggling with the increased demands of being able to effectively communicate as well as manage all of the scheduling and patient records across our three sites to accommodate patient needs and changes in schedules," added Horner-Ibler. "We are manually transferring patient records between the three clinics, which is a very inefficient way to practice medicine. With McKesson Practice Choice, we will have access to all patient records at all points of care. More importantly, the EHR will empower us to track our population's health, allowing us to better manage our patients' chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension."

McKesson Practice Choice is a fully integrated, web-based EHR and practice management solution that gives providers clinical, financial, operational and patient tools to help them manage their practice and provide quality care to their patients.

"In the evolving healthcare landscape, electronic health record technology has become almost a must-have for providers," said David Henriksen, senior vice president/general manager of McKesson Physician Practice Solutions. "Unfortunately, healthcare professionals, like Dr. Horner-Ibler and the Bread of Healing Clinic, do not always have the resources or access to implement systems. McKesson Gives Back is doing what it can to help these providers leverage the power of health information technology to deliver higher quality healthcare to Americans who are in great need of healthcare services."

McKesson Gives Back will provide free 26-month licenses of McKesson Practice Choice to a total of 100 healthcare professionals, like Bread of Healing Clinic, who provide charity care to the underserved and uninsured. A McKesson committee will select these providers from applicants in nine other metropolitan areas: Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, St. Louis, Miami, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Memphis, and Newark.

McKesson Gives Back is aligned with McKesson's Better Health 2020™, an initiative designed to help healthcare providers achieve better patient care, better business health and better connectivity in their communities. As organizations continue to address complex challenges in the new healthcare environment, including the need to reduce costs, coordinate care and assume more risk and manage complex payment models, McKesson is committed to continuing to support and help its customers generate positive clinical and financial outcomes and position them for success in the future.

To learn more about McKesson Gives Back and apply for the program, visit mckessongivesback.com