Surescripts Network Gains Momentum, Adds a Dozen Health Systems

ARLINGTON, Va. - November 6, 2013 - Surescripts continues to expand its national clinical network to enable greater care coordination through broader health information exchange in acute and ambulatory care settings.  Recent additions to the Surescripts network include 12 Epic Health Systems, including Community Health Network, Confluence Health, Hattiesburg Clinic, Kadlec Health System, Legacy Health, Ochsner Health System, Providence Health & Services, SLUCare, Swedish Medical Center, UC San Diego Health System, UCSF Medical Center, and Weill Cornell Medical College.

"The continuing evolution of the healthcare industry has created a new spectrum of needs that organizations are looking to meet in order to provide a more comprehensive approach to care," said Harry Totonis, president and chief executive officer of Surescripts. "Surescripts' technology and solutions help integrated delivery networks prepare for these changes, and we are already seeing incredible progress with so many systems connecting."

Surescripts can connect hospitals and integrated delivery networks (IDNs) to care providers within a healthcare community, including physicians' offices, nursing homes and pharmacies.  Epic's Care Everywhere interoperability platform is based on open standards, so IDNs can connect to the Surescripts network to broaden their reach and communicate with clinicians using other electronic health record (EHR) systems.

Surescripts and Epic were early and active supporters of industry standards, including Direct, making it easy to connect these new participants. Each of the new participants represents a significant expansion of the Surescripts network into distinct care communities across the country, including:

• Community Health Network in Indianapolis, IN, a non-profit health system with more than 200 sites and affiliates throughout Central Indiana, is ranked among the nation's most integrated healthcare systems.
• Confluence Health in Wenatchee Valley, WA, formed in 2013 as an affiliation between Wenatchee Valley Medical Center and Central Washington Hospital, includes clinics across 10 rural communities.
• Hattiesburg Clinic in Hattiesburg, MS, is the largest multi-specialty clinic in the state, caring for patients in more than 18 counties in South Mississippi.
• Kadlec Health System a Richland, WA not-for-profit health system provides care to patients in southeast Washington and northeast Oregon.
• Legacy Health in Portland, OR is the largest nonprofit, locally owned health system in the Portland-Vancouver area, with 2,500 doctors across six hospitals, more than 50 clinics, and lab, research and hospice facilities.
• Ochsner Health System in New Orleans, LA is the largest IDN in the Gulf States with eight hospitals and 38 health centers in Louisiana.
• Providence Health & Services of Renton, WA is a not-for-profit Catholic healthcare system that operates 27 hospitals across Alaska, California, Montana, Oregon and Washington.
• SLUCare in St. Louis, MO is the clinical arm for the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, a leading patient-centered, physician-guided medical practice in the St. Louis region.
• Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, WA is the largest non-profit health provider in the Greater Seattle area.
• UC San Diego Health System in San Diego, CA is the only academic health system in the region and among the country's most prestigious institutions having been consistently awarded as a top hospital both locally and nationally, including HIMSS Analytics' Stage 7 Award.
• UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco, CA includes two hospital complexes and dozens of locations throughout San Francisco as well as outreach clinics throughout Northern California and beyond.
• Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, NY is among the top-ranked clinical and medical research centers in the country.

"With these participants, Surescripts will facilitate timely, secure, easy access to vital information, enhance collaboration among care team members, help reduce errors, increase efficiency, improve the quality of care and health outcomes, and cut costs," added Totonis.

Surescripts understands the diverse needs of organizations within the healthcare industry.  The national clinical network allows healthcare professionals to access clinical care information when and where it's needed, including immunization summaries, CCDs, referrals, discharge summaries and lab results, to be transmitted between providers, locally and nationally, across all technology platforms, according to standard formats, workflows, and processes.   In addition, Surescripts is a founding member of DirectTrust and continues to support Direct and other security standards and initiatives to ensure accountability and trust in the electronic exchange of health information.