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MSMS Establishes Nation’s First Statewide Physician Network

Covisint-secured Digital Health Network to “Connect the Docs,” Improve the Delivery, Security and Efficiency of Care

Compuware Corporation and Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) announced that Compuware’s Covisint subsidiary will electronically connect doctors across Michigan via MSMS Connect, leveraging the Covisint on-demand health care platform. Importantly, with Covisint, MSMS Connect will enable secure messaging, including patient-specific information from physician-to-physician. The partnership is believed to be the nation’s first network sponsored by a statewide medical society that connects multiple physician organizations.

The MSMS Connect network is designed to improve the delivery, security and efficiency of health care by delivering access to and the use of technology among physicians. A key benefit is that physicians need only to sign-in once to have secure access to applications providing clinical and administrative information, including labs, ePrescribing, pharmacies, patient registries and other data.

“Physician practices will benefit from MSMS Connect because the electronic tools they need will be available through one source,” said Gregory J. Forzley, MD, Chair of MSMS Board of Directors and Medical Director of Informatics at Saint Mary’s Health Care in Grand Rapids, Mich. “Patients will benefit because the secure electronic transfer of patient information will increase efficiency, quality and safety. We look forward to linking up with more payers, vendors and regional health information networks as they develop.”

As a free benefit to MSMS’ 15,000 physician members, this partnership enables the means for physicians to easily adopt technology in a cost-effective, minimally-disruptive way in their practices. It is the first step on the road to full access to online health information, and, new services can be added easily as they become available. With Covisint, MSMS Connect will link with other health care and administrative networks, including regional health information organizations (RHIOs), regardless of the different technologies at each institution or initiative. It also allows physicians to participate in new incentive programs offered by Medicare and health insurance companies.

"Michigan is pioneering new ways to deliver better health care, which includes connecting physicians statewide," said Governor Jennifer M. Granholm.  "I want to commend the partnership between Michigan State Medical Society and Covisint for working to connect our doctors -- this is another great step toward comprehensive health information exchange."

“With MSMS Connect, physicians have a new opportunity to adopt health IT and incorporate that technology into their practices,” said David McGuffie, President and COO of Covisint. “Covisint’s tested and trusted platform gives physicians one familiar place to securely access the patient data they need to do their jobs more effectively. Covisint and MSMS will work together to drive technology adoption in the physician community while improving care and managing costs.”

For more information, call Janet Foreman at 800-688-1895 or jforeman@msms.org.

Covisint’s on-demand collaboration platform helps virtual communities securely access, use and share time sensitive information. Covisint solves business problems by streamlining and automating processes globally--connecting state and nationally based communities, organizations and systems in the health care, automotive and financial services industries, as well as the public sector. Learn more about Covisint at www.covisint.com.