Massachusetts-based eClinicalWorks has signed a deal to implement its cloud-based EHR platform for some 200,000 patients at 23 detention facilities across the country overseen by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The EHRS will be used by some 1,000 medical professionals with the ICE Health Service Corps. at facilities that aren’t quite hospitals but often involve longer-term primary care.
The contract, which runs through 2019, is worth about $4.8 million, according to the Federal Business Opportunities website, and it permits ICE to utilize an EHR system at a more cost-efficient price than if it were to develop its own system. ICE had spent $12 million on an EHR system but it determined use of eClinicalWorks cloud-based EHRs would be cheaper and require fewer man-hours to learn a new system.
Girish Navani, CEO and co-founder of eClinicalWorks, said a health system like ICE is “large and complex” and requires a different set of criteria than your typical acute-care hospital. Government agencies such as ICE, which is required by law to provide healthcare to the people it’s detaining, face a unique set of regulations not typical of healthcare organizations.
“I’d say it requires a pretty sophisticated management to manage something of this size,” he said.
eClinicalWorks is carving out a bit of a niche in unique healthcare environments, having worked with the New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco public health departments in implementing EHRs, Navani said. Similarly, the company designed an EHR system for jails in New York City that led to both improved health outcomes for prisoner patients but also better human rights, according to a study in Health and Human Rights Journal.
Another project included working with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which chose eClinicalWoarks in a $19.8 million deal for its Primary Care Information Project. That included some 3,000 physicians serving the city’s neediest communities, where eClinicalWorks implemented an EHR platform.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
“We have a good track record of complex systems and complex budgets,” Navani said. “Government agencies require a lot of customizations. We seem to be doing a model that supports diverse care settings.”
Using eClinicalWorks allows ICE, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, to create a complete longitudinal record and share data between facilities. Integration with its current systems, including laboratory, radiology and pharmacy, will make the new EHRs even more beneficial, the company said.
The system also permits providers to utilize chronic and preventative care measures, including those that are unique to this setting such as intake screening process flows, electronic medication administration and infirmary management.
eClinicalWorks is working with Harris Corporation, the prime contractor, and ICE to develop additional uses and integration with its current laboratory, radiology and pharmacy systems.
The eClinicalWorks system is part of Harris Corporation’s solution to deliver integrated medical records, patient tracking and shared information throughout the ICE Health Service Corps.
“ICE has a frequent need to send medical information across different locations, which is cumbersome when each site has its own system,” said Deanna Gephart, deputy assistant director of operations for ICE Health Service Corps.
[Photo from Flickr user Infocux Technologies]
