Katrina Phoenix Project

• The Katrina Phoenix Project project is the leading component of the Society’s relief efforts for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. HIMSS is dedicated to rebuilding paper-based medical practices decimated in the hurricane-ravaged states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama with donations of electronic health record and/or practice management systems, hardware, and consulting services.
• The Katrina Phoenix Project initiated in September 2005, is focused on aiding paper-based medical practices - decimated by Katrina - by rebuilding with Electronic Health Records (EHR). A 27-member, multi-disciplinary Advisory committee of HIMSS leaders, physicians and healthcare administrators, HIMSS EHRVA, and Louisiana and Mississippi Quality Improvement Organization representatives coordinates EHR gifts, practice selection and implementation, services and mentoring to transition recipients to EHR-based care. Two Louisiana and three Mississippi practices are currently in-process of reconstitution. To participate in HIMSS Katrina Phoenix, contact David Collins at dcollins@himss.org.

Grant Approval Process

• Practices have been identified by the respective Quality Improvement Organizations in each state. Alternatively, if a practice contacts a member of the Katrina Phoenix Advisory Board directly, they will be considered.
• Upon identification, the practice is requested to complete the Data Demographics form and Needs Assessment form developed by the Katrina Phoenix Advisory Board.
• Upon completion, these forms are reviewed by the Advisory Board to determine if the respective practice received significant damage from Hurricane Katrina, specifically loss of a high percentage of their paper medical records.
• A physician mentor will be assigned to the practice to discuss at a high-level the benefits and lessons learned from implementation of health information technology, emphasizing the effort involved. This call will facilitate both the beginning of the mentor relationship, and act as an assessment to determine if the physician and respective practice are truly engaged in wanting to adopt HIT or they are an “enthusiastic shopper”.
• Once it is determined that the practice is committed to the Katrina Phoenix project, an EMR vendor donation gift is matched to the practice based on the best fit and assessment by the Advisory Board and mentor. A WebEx demo is then provided of the EMR to the practice. As well, hardware inventory is collected, IT skills assessment, and workflow analysis forms completed.

Grantees

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Contributing EHR vendors

• Contributing EHR Vendors
• A4 Health Systems
• Companion Technologies
• Greenway Medical Technologies
• HealthLanguage
• InteGreat
• JMJ Technologies
• Lakes Health Systems "MerCure"
• MD Synergy
• MedcomSoft
• MedicAlert Foundation
• MediNotes Corporation
• Medpracticeflow
• MedQuist
• Misys Healthcare
• Optimal Practice Solutions
• OptimizeIT
• Practice Partner (PMSI).
• RedMedic
• SoapWare
• SRIT
• TeleVital

Press

• Link to Sun Herald article