Cedar Rapids, IA – June 21, 2011 – Mercy Medical Center and its online solutions provider, Geonetric, announce a partnership extension to develop a patient portal that will offer patients access to their personal health records, provide disease management capabilities and improve patient-provider communications.
“It’s an exciting time in healthcare. As the industry embraces new models, such as medical homes and accountable care organizations, it’s important to reevaluate the technology infrastructure,” says Tim Charles, Mercy’s president and CEO. “Mercy is a large network, and we need a flexible patient portal in place that provides patients with a meaningful experience. We are confident in Geonetric’s ability to deliver an innovative solution that will engage patients and improve the health of our community.”
Geonetric and Mercy are building on a seven-year partnership to take the 445-bed community hospital’s online initiatives to the next level. Together, Mercy and Geonetric will develop a patient portal that can merge patient data in a meaningful way across Mercy’s network and provide patients with a personalized online experience. The patient portal will focus on encouraging patients to take a more active role in managing their healthcare and connecting providers and patients online.
Mercy and MercyCare Physicians have already implemented a Patient Centered Medical Home pilot that is showing promising results, and Geonetric will build technology to help support the coordination of all the healthcare information and records for patients. Specific functionality will allow patients to communicate with their doctor’s office, view laboratory results, and schedule appointments online.
“Mercy and MercyCare Physicians have an impressive track record of bringing healthcare innovation to its market,” says Eric Engelmann, president and CEO of Geonetric. “We’re excited to develop technology solutions that will enhance the way Mercy delivers care.”
Mercy is known for its Lean initiatives that allow the organization to deliver value to its patients as effectively as possible. In addition to patient engagement capabilities, Mercy’s patient portal will also focus on improving efficiency for routine tasks, including appointment requests, bill payment, and patient registrations.
About Mercy Medical Center
For 110 years, Mercy Medical Center has delivered The Mercy Touch® by partnering the latest technology with compassionate and high-quality patient care. Mercy is a fully accredited 445 licensed-bed regional hospital. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, the medical center offers a wide range of patient services from the integrated cancer care accredited by the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) to the Chest Pain Center accredited by the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC). Other strengths include surgical services, critical care services, women’s services, obstetrics and multiple services for the prevention and management of chronic conditions. Mercy also has the most advanced private patient suites in the eastern Iowa Corridor. For more information, log onto www.mercycare.org, find Mercy on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MercyCR or follow Mercy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MercyCR.
About Geonetric®
Geonetric helps hospitals and health systems develop and implement innovative Web strategies to engage their patients and communities online. VitalSite®, Geonetric’s robust content management software, easily manages websites, portals and intranets, and includes a large selection of interactive modules. Geonetric also provides a comprehensive suite of online services, from strategy and design, to search engine marketing and social media management, to ongoing support and hosting – all designed to engage site visitors and deliver measurable results. Visit www.geonetric.com to learn more and follow us on Twitter @geonetric.
