NEWS
Southern Tier HealthLink Enables Electronic Referral Service Between Practices
6/30/2011
Working in collaboration with Medent EHR Software, Southern Tier HealthLink (STHL) has successfully facilitated the point-to-point exchange of referrals between two major Southern Tier medical practices. In a successful pilot test, patient referrals flowed electronically between Endwell Family Physicians and Cardiology Associates, eliminating the need for faxes and telephone calls between the practices. Dr Afzal ur Rehman, President of Cardiology Associates said, "Our patients will benefit from the speed and accuracy of electronic healthcare record transmission. Cardiology Associates providers and staff are very excited to be a part of this accomplishment."
In addition to enhancements in record transmission speed and accuracy, experts estimate that electronic referrals can save practices at least $10,000 per provider per year. STHL is now offering the referral service to other practices that are using a Medent EHR system. Expanding the referral service to other practices in the region will further leverage the speed, accuracy and cost savings of patient care.
"The EHR to EHR Referral pilot we just completed with Endwell Family Physicians and Cardiology Associates is a wonderful demonstration of STHL's role in "Connecting the Dots" for healthcare records throughout the Southern Tier," commented Christina Galanis, STHL Executive Director. "We are working hard to expand this service to other Medent-based providers, and STHL will be transmitting additional documents as well as developing similar services for other EHR platforms."
