District of Columbia Primary Care Association Selects Microsoft Amalga to Improve Patient Care for the U...( Organizations are turning to Amalg...),Health

Organizations are turning to Amalga to connect hospitals and community

health centers.

REDMOND, Wash., June 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- To improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivered to medically underserved D.C. residents, the District of Columbia Primary Care Association (DCPCA) will use Microsoft Amalga, the unified intelligence system, to enable the sharing of data among local hospitals and six community-based health centers that are part of a newly formed District of Columbia Regional Health Information Organization (D.C. RHIO).

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DCPCA joins the Wisconsin Health Information Exchange (WHIE) as the second organization to select Microsoft Amalga to allow the security-enhanced exchange of information between hospital systems and community health centers for optimal patient care.

"The sharing of medical information among D.C. health centers and local hospitals is uncommon," said Sharon Baskerville, CEO of DCPCA. "Using Amalga to aggregate and share clinical data, we will break down the barriers, enabling these providers to improve clinical decision-making, minimize redundant work, reduce costs, and most important, provide higher-quality care to the neediest in our communities. We expect to create a sustainable business model in the RHIO marketplace."

Announced by DCPCA in May, the D.C. RHIO will connect six health centers -- representing 21 locations -- and two hospitals, Georgetown University Hospital and Washington Hospital Center, with the purpose of improving both the quality and accessibility of healthcare for vulnerable members of society. The six health centers are Bread for the City, Family and Medical Counseling Service, La Clinica del Pueblo, Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care, So Others Might Eat (SOME), and the Whitman-
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