McKesson Launches Health Interoperability PlatformMcKesson Launches Health Interoperability Platform

McKesson has introduced an interoperability platform that enables physician practices to securely exchange information with other doctors, patients, hospitals, and insurance companies.

The new messaging platform is part of version 9.3.3 of Practice Partner, McKesson's electronic health record and medical billing software. Practice Partner Connect is designed to exchange clinical and financial data via any type of health information exchange. HIE systems are deployed within a region, community, or hospital system for moving healthcare information electronically.

"Physicians not only are responsible for patient wellness; they are increasingly the central coordination point in a broad health network that includes their patients as well as payors, pharmacies, labs, and HIEs," David Henriksen, senior VP of McKesson's physician practice solutions group, said in a statement Wednesday. "Given that inherent complexity, McKesson has launched Practice Partner Connect as a means to simplify and streamline the necessary electronic communication for more collaborative, safer -- and more efficient -- healthcare."

Partner Connect records all activity within the system and provides physicians with full control of data. Information that can be shared includes the treatment of patients, eligibility checks, and billing. The increased visibility across institutions is a requirement under the "meaningful use" criteria for healthcare providers accepting funds under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which includes a $20 billion health IT stimulus program.

Along with the new interoperability platform, version 9.3.3 of Practice Partner features McKesson's Bright Note Technology that instantly populates data on a patient's electronic chart. The processing technology enables physicians to use their preferred charting style to capture data in a single screen note and synchronize searchable data across a chart.

McKesson's latest product announcement followed a week after the company announced that it would offer customers the option of buying its EHR and practice management software bundled with Hewlett-Packard hardware, including desktop computers, notebooks, and thin-client devices.

The systems will be sold through McKesson's network of several hundred "EHR certified" value-added resellers, who'll also provide doctors with assessments, installation, training, and support services.