HealthNet, Indiana’s largest federally qualified health center (FQHC), has been named a 2015 HIMSS Ambulatory Davies Award recipient, the Chicago-based Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) announced on Dec. 7.
For more than 20 years, the HIMSS Nicholas E. Davies Award of Excellence has recognized outstanding achievement of organizations that have utilized health information technology to substantially improve patient outcomes while achieving return on investment. HealthNet has become the third Ambulatory Davies Award recipient this year, with Grove Medical Associates of Auburn, Mass., and The Wright Center for Primary Care of Scranton, Pa. being the other two 2015 winners.
Since 1968, HealthNet has improved the health status of Indianapolis’ inner-city neighborhoods by making quality health services accessible to everyone, HIMSS said in a statement. Through 150 licensed providers, HealthNet annually provides affordable healthcare to nearly 60,000 individuals, 65 percent of whom are Medicaid recipients. In addition, 77 percent of patients served are under the age of 35. HealthNet has a network of eight primary care health centers, one OB/GYN care center, one pediatric and adolescent care center, one maternal fetal medicine center, five dental clinics, seven school-based clinics, a homeless program with eight shelter clinics, and additional support service. “HealthNet’s mission is to improve lives with compassionate healthcare and support services, regardless of ability to pay,” HIMSS said.
The organization has also been accredited by the Joint Commission as an ambulatory practice since 1980, and is the only FQHC in Indiana with this distinction. HealthNet achieved patient centered medical home (PCMH) designation from the Joint Commission in October 2012 and has successfully attested 98 percent of its eligible providers for Medicaid meaningful use.
HealthNet’s successful use of health IT to move metrics is highlighted in case studies focused on the value of leveraging IT to standardize care and improve patient outcomes. With the assistance of electronic health records and a variety of IT interventions, HealthNet has reduced low birth weights, improved care outcomes for pediatric patients, and significantly increased patient satisfaction. The use of the electronic health record (EHR) to improve patient management and billing has produced a 230 percent return on investment since 2009, HIMSS reported.
“As a federally qualified community health center, HealthNet has a large pediatric population with significant social determinants that contribute to the development of chronic disease,” Jonathan French, director of quality and patient safety at HIMSS, said in a statement. “HealthNet has leveraged health IT to standardize and improve care for children and newborns within its delivery system. The Davies Committee and HIMSS congratulate the team members of HealthNet on improving the health outcomes of their patient population through the effective use of health IT.”
HealthNet of Indianapolis will be recognized at the 2016 HIMSS Conference & Exhibition, February 29-March 4, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nev.
