HITEC-LA Selects Office Ally as First Announced EHR Vendor

VANCOUVER, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Office Ally announced today that HITEC-LA, the regional extension center (REC) for the nation’s largest county, has selected Office Ally as one of its preferred electronic health record (EHR) vendors. Certified by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), Office Ally’s EHR 24/7 product helps providers meet meaningful use requirements and as a result, qualify for incentives under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“I’m certain that our customers will find the HITEC-LA’s assistance to be extremely valuable in helping them implement our software and achieve meaningful use.”

“We selected Office Ally as our first EHR vendor to announce since many of our small and solo member practices are looking for a product that not only helps them adopt EHRs and improves the quality of care that they deliver, but ultimately keeps their costs as low as possible,” says Mary Franz, executive director for HITEC-LA. “We think Office Ally is a great addition to what will soon be a full range of EHR vendors that we will offer our members.”

HITEC-LA was founded in 2010 when the federal government awarded L.A. Care Health Plan a grant to establish the exclusive REC for Los Angeles County. HITEC-LA helps Los Angeles County health care providers select the right EHR system for their practices and guides them through the entire implementation process to achieve meaningful use.

“We are thrilled with this new affiliation with HITEC-LA,” says Office Ally President and CEO Brian O’Neill. “I’m certain that our customers will find the HITEC-LA’s assistance to be extremely valuable in helping them implement our software and achieve meaningful use.”

Office Ally’s EHR 24/7, which costs providers just $29.95 a month, is the base of what will be offered to HITEC-LA members. In addition, HITEC-LA members will receive additional interfaces and technical support, all for a low fixed monthly fee. Set-up and unlimited training are included, along with free clearinghouse, practice management, and patient health registry services all integrated with the EHR. Office Ally is able to extend this exceptional value to providers because it is the only organization in the country to offer them a full suite of revenue-cycle management services.

“As part of the standard contract that we secured with Office Ally, our member providers who are interested in this option can receive the standard product, meaningful use templates, health information exchanges, other interfaces, and complete support bundled together for an all-inclusive fee,” says Ali Modaressi, director of EHR Technology for HITEC-LA. “We have come to an agreement with Office Ally that is provider-centric and takes the confusion out of purchasing an EHR.”

“We are finding the marketplace tremendously receptive to our products because we’ve designed them to be affordable, simple to use, and easy to integrate with each other,” says O’Neill.

The federal government is encouraging all providers to adopt EHRs as a way to improve quality, safety, efficiency and access. Part of the economic stimulus package passed by Congress in 2009 provides incentive payments for Medicaid and Medicare providers that adopt and use certified EHRs. There are also consequences for Medicare providers who do not adopt a certified EHR by 2015 – they will be penalized 1 percent of Medicare payments, increasing to 3 percent over three years.

An EHR is a patient record in digital format that is capable of being shared confidentially and securely across different healthcare settings. Such records may include a full range of data in comprehensive or summary form, including demographics, medical history, medications and allergies, immunization status, laboratory test results, radiology images, and billing information.

Founded in 2000, Office Ally currently works with more than 150,000 providers and 4,400 insurance carriers in all 50 states. It also houses eligibility for nearly 400 IPAs and small health plans. Its complete suite of interactive ASP, Internet-based solutions include a patient health registry – Patient Ally™, electronic health records – EHR 24/7™, practice management – Practice Mate™, and clearinghouse and case management – Case Mate™. All of Office Ally’s products and services are offered at minimal or no cost to providers, with training and technical support available 24/7. Further information may be obtained at www.officeally.com.

Health Information Technology Extension Center for Los Angeles (HITEC-LA) is the exclusive federally designated REC for Los Angeles County, charged with helping doctors and primary care providers select, implement, and use electronic health records in a meaningful way. HITEC-LA helps providers assess their technology needs as well as offers education, training, and onsite technical assistance. For more information, visit www.hitecla.org. HITEC-LA, a project of L.A. Care Health Plan, is funded by the ONC, Department of Health and Human Services, Award Number: 90RC0052/01.