10.07 - Physicians' Institute recognizes Urological Health Center

Local medical practice receives statewide Health Technology Award

CORDELE, Ga. − Urological Health Center is one of four recipients of the inaugural Health Technology Awards for 2007, presented by the Physicians' Institute for Excellence in Medicine, recognizing Georgia physicians who have implemented technology solutions in their practice.

Urological Health Center received the statewide award for successfully developing and implementing its new electronic medical records system. By replacing the paper-record method, patients' complete charts are now accessible from any location at any time, said Melvin Fussell, M.D., physician at the Cordele and Warner Robins practice.

"Electronic records are much more amenable to ensuring quality control monitoring and establishing quality control measures, such as compliance with treatments and ensuring receipt of investigations," Dr. Fussell said. "This system has been customized for this urology practice, ensuring accurate, complete and appropriate documentation of both external lab and in-house investigations such as urodynamic studies."

Dr. Fussell said the new system also ensures accurate and appropriate billing for services, disaster recovery, backup of data and reduction of costs for paper supplies.

The Urological Health Center is among four 2007 Health Technology recipients who were chosen from applications submitted by primary care and specialty care practices across the state. The entries were judged by Georgia physicians who have been awarded the prestigious Davies Award from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.

"The purpose of the awards program is to showcase replicable, innovative technology solutions that demonstrate a positive impact on clinical practice," said Walker L. Ray, M.D., president of the Physicians' Institute. "Among these are electronic medical records, registries, document management, telehealth and e-prescribing. The Urological Health Center is one of four physician-owned private practices that have each distinguished themselves by having implemented a successful technology strategy that benefits the clinical process, practice management and, most important, patient care."

The Urological Health Center sees patients from a large area covering Albany to Macon and Columbus to Dublin. Surgeries are performed in hospitals in Cordele, Fort Valley and Warner Robins.

The Physicians' Institute created the new health technology awards in collaboration with GMCF, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Georgia. The awards are supported by a grant from the Physicians' Foundation for Health Systems Excellence and GMCF.

As a not-for-profit (501(c)(3) subsidiary of the Medical Association of Georgia, the Physicians' Institute focuses on activities to support physicians, including educational programs and tools, in addition to sponsoring applied projects to improve the effectiveness of practices and processes in the physician office. The mission of the Physicians' Institute is to improve patient safety and achieve clinical improvements for physicians and their patients.

The Physicians' Institute was one of the few organizations in the country to receive a significant grant award from the Physicians' Foundation for Excellence in Medicine. During 2006 and 2007, the Physicians' Institute's grant has supported the MAG E-Technology Academy, a multifaceted program designed to increase the knowledge base of physicians regarding the use of technology in their offices.

The Physicians' Institute continues to collaborate on a national level with state medical associations, health foundations, pharmaceutical companies and other health organizations to support office-based physicians in their efforts to improve patient outcomes.