365-Bed Mountainside Hospital Achieves Stage 1 Meaningful Use with Certified EHR from Healthcare Management Systems

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Dec. 1, 2011)—Mountainside Hospital, a 365-bed suburban facility in Montclair, N.J., has met Stage 1 meaningful use criteria using the certified electronic health record (EHR) from Healthcare Management Systems Inc.® (HMS). By successfully attesting for Stage 1 meaningful use with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Mountainside can receive payments from EHR incentive programs.

Since implementing the EHR and other HMS applications, including computerized provider order entry (CPOE), Mountainside has experienced significant adoption among the hospital’s approximately 1,000 clinicians, largely due to the HMS software’s flexibility and ease-of-use.

The clinical and financial benefits of HMS applications are magnified in busy facilities like Mountainside, which has more than 130,000 patient visits annually.

Mountainside, a longtime HMS customer, began planning for meaningful use well before government rules were finalized. The hospital’s leaders developed an aggressive plan designed to successfully attest by Sept. 20, 2011, enabling the hospital to expedite its request for payments under the EHR incentive programs. To achieve this objective, Mountainside worked closely with meaningful use experts from HMS who provided support and guidance throughout the attestation process.

“Mountainside and HMS have a well-established relationship, and we relied on HMS to help us reach our meaningful use goals. Our commitment to using advanced technology, coupled with the resources and expertise of HMS, aided Mountainside’s successful attestation,” said Barry Mousa, vice president of support services at Mountainside Hospital. “In addition to helping us achieve meaningful use, HMS applications are core to the patient care we provide, giving our clinicians valuable features and functionality. That includes the ability for clinicians to securely access patient information remotely, including from their practice or home.”

As a member of Merit Health Systems, LLC, Mountainside is dedicated to the continual improvement of its healthcare services, programs and technologies that benefit patients and the dynamic community served by the hospital just miles from New York City.

“Providers like Mountainside Hospital trust HMS because we are an agile healthcare technology company with the resources and expertise that hospitals need to meet their meaningful use and ongoing clinical and financial objectives,” said Tom Stephenson, president of HMS.

About Mountainside Hospital
At Mountainside Hospital, world-class physicians treat a wide range of medical conditions using state-of-the-art technology. Patients have immediate access to innovative and effective treatment alternatives at specialized centers within the hospital that focus on imaging, women’s health, cancer care, surgery, obesity, stroke and chronic kidney disease. The 365-bed community hospital delivers personalized care while also serving as a learning center via its nursing school and residency programs in family medicine, internal medicine and dentistry. Mountainside Hospital is designated as a Primary Stroke Center by the NJ State Department of Health and Senior Services and is one of only a few community hospitals licensed by the State to perform emergency angioplasty. To learn more about Mountainside visit www.mountainsidehosp.com.

About HMS
Healthcare Management Systems Inc. (HMS) is a Nashville-based healthcare company that develops, sells and supports integrated clinical and financial hospital information systems and services designed to increase efficiency while improving patient safety. The HMS EHR is 2011/2012 compliant and has been certified by Drummond Group, an ONC-ATCB, in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Founded in 1984, HMS currently serves more than 700 community hospitals; behavioral, rehabilitation and long-term acute-care facilities; and multi-entity healthcare organizations nationwide. For more information, please visit www.hmstn.com.

HMS is part of HealthTech Holdings Inc., a health information technology holding company that owns HMS, MEDHOST and Sentry Healthcare Services. HealthTech Holdings’ mission is to acquire and manage technology companies focused on the creation of value for the healthcare industry. More information is available at www.healthtechholdings.com.

News media contact:
Tony Katsulos
Jetstream PR for HMS
katsulos@jetstreampr.com
972-788-9456, ext. 301