Washington - The list of vendors participating in the American College of Physicians' (ACP) EHR Partners Program (EPP) is expanding from nine to 22 in the 2009 cycle, it announced today.

The EPP, designed to help physicians and their practices compare electronic health records (EHRs), is based on an extensive database of information -- including user satisfaction ratings, objective assessments of the EHRs in use, and detailed standardized pricing scenarios. Information on all 23 EHR products (one vendor is featuring two products) will be available online in late-April when the updated program launches.

"Although there are a wide variety of EHR products on the market, adoption rates remain low, especially among small and solo physician practices," Jeffrey P. Harris, MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians commented. "The EPP is designed to help doctors and their practice research and compare various EHRs by providing information that would otherwise be difficult to obtain. We hope this tool helps practices narrow their list of EHRs products -, so that they can focus their attention and make the right decisions."

The program, currently an ACP member benefit, is a collaborative effort between ACP and participating certified EHR partner companies to provide in-depth information on the products offered by each of the vendors. ACP invites only EHR systems that have achieved certification by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) to participate in the EPP.

Vendors in 2009 include ABEL Medical Software Inc., Allscripts, eClinicalWorks, Eclipsys, EHS, e-MDs Solution Series, and GE Healthcare.

Also participating are Glenwood Systems, gloStream, Greenway Medical Technologies, iMedica Corporation, Infor-Med Corporation, Ingenix Care Tracker, and iSALUS.

2009 participating vendors also include McKesson Provider Technologies, MedPlexus, Inc., Nextgen Healthcare Information Systems, Practice One, Prime Clinical Systems, Sage Software, Sequel Systems, and SuiteMed.

The ACP web site will be updated with information on all of the vendors and an improved comparison tool when the new program launches in late April. ACP also plans to license access to the EHR Partners Program to other professional societies. For more information please send an e-mail to EPP(at)acponline.org or visit the website.

The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization and the second-largest physician group in the United States. ACP members include more than 126,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internists specialize in the prevention, detection and treatment of illnesses in adults.

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