OREANDA-NEWS. March 01, 2016. McKesson announced today that two healthcare facilities have chosen to augment and extend their use of McKesson Managed Hosting Services for their IT infrastructure systems. Western Reserve Hospital and Davis Health System (DHS) have both expanded their contracts with McKesson to securely and cost-effectively support their core clinical and financial systems.

McKesson Managed Hosting Services provide healthcare organizations with secure, remote IT infrastructure and operations for both McKesson-owned and third-party applications. The fixed-cost services, which recently ranked among the top three in the 2015/2016 “Best in KLAS Software & Services” report, include 24/7 year-round infrastructure support and application administration to help optimize end-user experiences and application availability.

Western Reserve Hospital Expands Remote Hosting Footprint with PACS

Western Reserve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, has been using McKesson’s Managed Hosting services for more than two years. The facility is the only full-service, physician-owned and operated hospital in Northeast Ohio. By using remote hosting services for its deployment of the McKesson Paragon? EHR and other applications, the hospital’s IT staff has more time for initiatives that support the organization’s mission to be a 100% patient-centered organization, focused on total patient satisfaction and convenience of care at all levels.

Based on its established relationship with McKesson and proven performance of hosting services, Western Reserve recently signed a contract to be the first hospital to deploy McKesson Radiology™ PACS (picture archiving and communication systems) and Conserus Workflow Intelligence™, as a remote hosted solution. “We are excited about this opportunity because our radiologists will have more functionality than before, and in a cost-efficient manner as compared with hosting it ourselves,” said Pamela Banchy, RN-BC, chief information officer and vice president of clinical informatics at Western Reserve. Radiologists at the hospital were particularly interested in gaining access to the capabilities of Conserus Workflow Intelligence, a flexible rules-driven and vendor neutral workflow orchestration and enterprise worklist solution. “We felt confident about being first in line for remote hosted PACS because we have a strong, collaborative relationship with McKesson,” added Banchy. “They share our vision for clinical excellence.”

“We are excited to partner with Western Reserve for their hosted Radiology PACS solution,” said Ashish Sant, general manager of radiology for McKesson Imaging and Workflow Solutions. “McKesson’s hosting services will reduce their IT complexity and costs and help them scale their PACS infrastructure to manage their growth. The radiologists will benefit from imaging intelligence and collaboration capabilities through ongoing deployment of latest McKesson radiology software and technology on the hosted platform, thus contributing to Western Reserve’s vision for clinical excellence.”

Davis Health Systems Renews Managed Hosting Services

Davis Health System (DHS) is a community-based healthcare organization headquartered in Elkins, West Virginia that serves more than five counties in the picturesque heart of central West Virginia, near the Monongahela National Forest. Community health systems in rural areas, such as DHS, are often challenged to recruit and retain the IT talent needed to manage their IT infrastructure on an ongoing basis. Managed hosting can help reduce the resources needed for system support while providing the security of expert off-site management.

DHS has been using McKesson Managed Hosting services for more than three years. After successfully migrating to McKesson’s new hosting infrastructure platform late last year, DHS executives decided to extend their agreement with McKesson for an additional term.

"The McKesson team has provided us with an effective, predictable and affordable extension of the remote hosting services that we have had in place,” said Steve Crowl, chief information officer at Davis. “Our executive team is pleased with the level and stability of our remote hosting services and we are excited to continue our partnership with McKesson."

McKesson Managed Hosting Services Deploying Agile, Flexible Architecture Nationwide

McKesson is deploying a modernized technology platform for its managed hosting services customers nationwide. “With our new approach, applications are delivered within an agile and flexible architecture that is built to help support the IT demands of our customers today and as they evolve in the future,” explained Nimesh Shah, president of McKesson Enterprise Information Solutions. Key benefits of the new platform include automated provisioning capabilities that can help reduce the time required to make physical or logical changes to the system, and new predictive monitoring capabilities that can help identify and mitigate potential issues before they affect customer environments.

“We know our customers face an increasingly complex and competitive landscape as they navigate their core mission of providing excellent patient care to their communities,” added Shah. “By letting McKesson take on their critical system operations through managed hosting services, they have the freedom to apply their onsite IT staff and other resources to the initiatives that matter most in their organizations.”

To learn more about McKesson’s broad range of managed services, visit Booth #4002 at HIMSS16 in Las Vegas, Feb. 29-March 4. McKesson will showcase Better Health 2020™ solutions which support the full scope of care delivery processes, from patient access management through clinical assessment, documentation and treatment, to billing, financial and supply chain management.

About Western Reserve Hospital

Western Reserve Hospital serves as one of Northeast Ohio’s most advanced community hospitals, dedicated not only to exceptional patient care and excellence in healthcare services, but also to education, community outreach and the overall wellness of Cuyahoga Falls and the surrounding areas. Owned and operated by physicians in the community, the hospital’s mission is to deliver 100 percent patient-centered care. Coupled with the vision of improving the delivery of the safest, highest quality health care available, Western Reserve is fully committed to patient satisfaction. For more information, visit www.westernreservehospital.org/.

About Davis Health System

With the support of nearly 1,000 healthcare professionals, Davis Health System is committed to providing patient-friendly, quality healthcare to its communities in five regional counties. Davis Health System is focused on excellence, achieved by offering technology that’s equal to that of larger hospitals, expertise that is backed by continuing education and services that focus on the specific healthcare needs of its communities. Above all, it is the caring nature of Davis Health System professionals that defines the organization. For more information, visit www.davishealthsystem.org.

About McKesson Corporation

McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 11th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We partner with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com.