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Texas A&M University Selects McKesson's InterQual Criteria to Give Small, Rural Hospitals Access to World Class Decision Support ContentMarch 07, 2006 |
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NEWTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 7, 2006--McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK), the world's leading healthcare services company, today announced that the Rural and Community Health Institute at the Texas A&M University, an organization that works with small, rural hospitals throughout the state to monitor and improve the quality of healthcare, has signed a new multi-year license for InterQual(R) decision support criteria. The license will enable qualified rural hospitals to access InterQual evidence-based clinical content via the Web to make care management decisions consistently and objectively. Under the new agreement, the Rural and Community Health Institute will work with McKesson to provide hospital-based care managers with electronic, password-protected access to InterQual Acute Criteria as well as Web-based training. To qualify for the InterQual program, the hospitals must be affiliated with the Institute, be independent and have 60 beds or less. To date, most of the 55 eligible hospitals have signed up. "The hospitals in our network sometimes have limited access to evidence-based decision support tools to determine the appropriate levels of care for patients," said Josie R. Williams, M.D., MMM, director of the Rural and Community Health Institute. "By partnering with McKesson and obtaining federal grant funds, we now have the opportunity to provide these hospitals with access to InterQual Acute Criteria to help them monitor and improve the quality of care they offer." More than 3,500 health plans, hospitals, academic medical centers, government agencies and care management organizations currently use McKesson's InterQual tools to support clinical decisions for individual patients across the continuum of care. The product suite's unmatched clinical strength -- including its rich research base, care facilitation features, integration of quality indicators and care management notes -- has made InterQual the world's leading evidence-based criteria solution for care managers performing utilization review and discharge planning. "Hospitals of all sizes -- from large health systems to smaller community facilities -- benefit from our clinical software and tools," said Ricardo Guggenheim, M.D., vice president, clinical content and design, McKesson Health Solutions. "By partnering with our customers and exploring new avenues -- like electronic access -- even more hospitals can use InterQual as part of their patient care decision making process." About Texas A&M University The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center is committed to improving health through excellence in educating members of the health professions, engaging in basic and applied research, encouraging technology transfer, and developing public and community health programs. Its commitment includes a special emphasis on underserved and rural populations. For more information, visit www.tamhsc.edu. About McKesson Corporation McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK), currently ranked 15th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes and improving the quality and safety of patient care. Over the course of its 173-year history, McKesson has grown to provide pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, physicians, homecare and payors; hospital and retail pharmacy automation; and services for manufacturers and payors designed to improve outcomes for patients. For more information, visit us at www.mckesson.com. |
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