Product Profile
Product name
ABELMed EHR-EMR/PM
EHR Certification
Meaningful Use – Stage 1 (ONC-ATCB Certified 2011/2012)
CCHIT 2011 (Pre-Market or Fully Certified)
History of development and product ownership
ABEL has served the Healthcare IT needs of physicians and dentists since 1977, In mid 1990s, ABEL re-engineered its EMR module with new, more user friendly design and new application code. ABELMed EHR is designed to suit small to mid size physician practices.
Was the product known by any other names in the past three years?
No
Year that a fully functional version of this EHR product was first implemented in a medical practice in the US
1996
Number of full time equivalent (FTE) staff fully dedicated to this product
Product development: 30
Sales: 13
Implementation: 21
Support and maintenance: 30
Typical size of practice in which this EHR has been implemented
1–3 physicians
4–10 physicians
Typical setting in which this EHR system is used
Multispecialty Clinic
Private Ambulatory Care Office
What specialties does this EHR support?
Allergy and Immunology
Cardiology - Non Invasive
Endocrinology/Diabetes/Metabolism
Gastroenterology
General Internal Medicine
General Practice/Family Practice
Geriatrics
Hematology
Nephrology
Neurology
OB/Gyn & Women's Health
Pediatrics
Physical/Rehabilitation Medicine
Psychiatry
Pulmonary Medicine
Rheumatology
Urology
Areas of the United States in which this EHR product is sold
North East
Mid Alantic
South
Midwest
South West
West
Hardware / Network
Operating system platform(s) supported
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 (64 bit) Foundation or Standard with the appropriate number of CALS. Windows Remote Desktop Services CALS 2008 R2.
Thin client with remote desktop client or Winterminal appliance Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows embedded.
Does the company resell any hardware?
Hardware can be quoted upon request.
Preferred list of 3rd party hardware suppliers
ABEL provides system specifications and works with the hardware supplier preferred by the customer.
Preferred list of 3rd party IT Support vendors?
ABEL works with any supplier preferred by the customer.
Does the product work over a wireless (WIFI) network?
Yes
VARs - Value Added Resellers
Do you use value added resellers to sell and distribute this EHR?
Yes
Can customers purchase your product directly from your company or only from your VAR’s
Yes
May purchase either directly from ABEL or through our resellers.
Can customers who have purchased your product through a VAR contact your company for support?
Yes
ABEL provides support through our maintenance agreement.
Application Service Provider
Do you offer an ASP version of your EHR product?
Yes
Can you use Dragon or MS voice tools on your ASP solution?
Yes
Dragon Medical is supported.
Company policy regarding data ownership for the ASP EHR
The client retains full ownership of patient-specific data.
Location of data hosting centers
In the cloud using Microsoft Azure – East US.
Software & Database
What programming language were used to develop the application?
Microsoft .Net
Do you provide a test version of your EHR product for training and quality assurance(QA) purposes as well as the full production environment that is installed in the clinic? (The test version is a segmented area where users can make changes to templates or forms without it affecting the live environment)
Yes
Are 3rd party applications required to use your EHR?
Yes
MS SQL Server Runtime licenses and MS Word are required and normally sold with ABELMed. MS RDS licenses and one copy of MS Access are also recommended.
Do you use standard terminologies, e.g., SNOMED-CT, LOINC, ICD9, ICD10 in your program?
CPT, SNOMED-CT, LOINC, ICD9. ICD-10 will be used when available.
Expected date to be in compliance with ICD10 coding
ABEL has made the necessary internal preparations to quickly and efficiently implement the ICD-10 coding standard once this coding set is finalized.
Expected date to be in compliance with SNOMED-CT
The product is capable of integrating SNOMED-CT terminology - which can be made available upon request.
Interfaces / Interoperability
Does this product have existing lab interfaces with Quest? If Yes, please explain whether the interfaces are uni or bi-directional.
Yes
If Yes to the previous question, are the interfaces bundled or provided at additional cost? Please explain.
Yes
Additional cost may be covered by the lab itself.
If the lab company picks up the costs, will the practice be charged maintenance and support fees? If Yes, please explain.
No
Does this product have existing lab interfaces with Labcorp? If Yes,
Yes
If Yes to the previous question, are the interfaces bundled or provided at additional cost? Please explain.
Yes
Additional cost may be covered by the lab itself.
If the lab company picks up the costs, will the practice be charged maintenance and support fees? If Yes, please explain.
No
Does the company offer an integrated EHR/PM system? (i.e. a combined EHR/PM system)
Yes
ABELMed EHR-EMR/PM is a fully integrated system.
[If yes to the previous question] Does your system used a single shared database (not interfaced) for the EHR/PM system?
Yes
Can your product be interfaced with a different PM system if the practice chooses to do so?
Yes
Using our fully integrated PM and EHR software is recommended. Developing interfaces with other PM system is possible and can be considered.
List of Practice Management systems with which you have existing interfaces
If you do not have an interface with a particular PM system, are you willing to develop a custom interface?
Yes
Integration costs may apply.
If an interfaced PM system is used, does your EHR product transfer billing and coding data captured during the encounter to the PM system? If yes, is this a one-step or multi-step process?
Does the EHR use an interface engine?
Implementation and training
Tools and/or services offered to clients in order to achieve meaningful use of their EHR?
ABEL Medical Software Inc. guarantees that ABELMed EHR-EMR/PM will meet the Meaningful Use criteria. We provide, training, step by step instructions and support to help our customers meet demonstrate MU. ABELMed EHR-EMR/PM facilitates easy clinical documentation via customized templates, rapid generation of reports, accurate monitoring and delivers alerts.
Tools and/or services offered to clients for current workflow analysis and redesign when using an EHR?
Prior to and during implementation, a Project Manager and Implementation specialist will work with your practice and analyze your workflow to optimize the use of EHR in your practice. They will suggest appropriate changes in workflow to enhance your practice.
Do you recommend a graduated implementation or a big-bang implementation (all live at the same time) for your EHR?
ABEL recommends a graduated implementation plan. However, for a small practice, all members can start using EHR at the same time with proper planning and buy-in of all members.
What training mechanisms are used by the EHR Vendor?
On Site
At Corporate Facility
Web Based
Web Based interactive
Is there a minimum amount of training required by your company in order to satisfy the support and maintenance contract that we would sign with you?
No
Recommended training plans are customized based on customer needs.
Do you provide any guarantees regarding the ability of a practice to meet meaningful use requirements?
Yes
ABEL guarantees that ABELMed EHR-EMR/PM will meet the Stage 1 Meaningful Use certification criteria.
Does your company provide any guarantees that your EHR product will comply with Stage 2 and Stage 3 meaningful use requirements?
Yes
We guarantee that ABELMed EHR-EMR/PM will meet the Stage 2 and Stage 3 Meaningful Use certification criteria.
Is there a minimum amount of training required by your company in order for our practice to satisfy compliance with meaningful use guarantees?
No
ABEL provides a recommended training plan based on an assesment of each customer's unique requirements.
What services do you offer for post-implementation optimization of the system with respect to training and system customization?
ABEL provides on-going support and regular training to reinforce and optimize the EHR skills acquired by the users.
Prescribing
Does your product support ePrescribing? Is there an additional charge for this service or is it included in the overall cost?
Yes
There is no additional charge. The service is included in overall cost.
Which formulary does your product use?
ABEL uses the Surescripts formulary. However, custom formularies can be included on request.
Does the system allow users to add drugs that may not be in the original database?
Yes
Users can create drugs that are not in the original database.
How are drug allergies and adverse reactions recorded and integrated into the prescribing module?
Drug interactions and drug allergies are automatically displayed and referenced on behalf of the patient using the FDB database.
When prescribing multiple medications, am I presented with an ability to separately acknowledge or document individual alerts?
Yes
Is there an ability for the physician or practice to modify preset alerts? (e.g. Severe vs. mild or moderate)
Yes
Customer can customize alert levels.
Is there an ability for the physician to filter the display of alerts?
Yes
Customer can filter alert levels.
How are episodic and long-term medications tracked in the patient’s record?
Users can display and track episodic and long term medications separately by using appropriate filters (including filters for active vs. inactive medications.)
Does the system allow users to switch drug interaction checking on or off?
No
This is a patient safety and professional issue. However, the user can select the level of drug interactions that will be displayed and can filter mild interactions if they choose to do so.
In the medication list, is a user able to sort medications by multiple parameters including date prescribed, diagnostic code, active or discontinued?
Yes
Templates
What pre-defined templates do you provide?
Definition: A template is a pre-defined structured capability to rapidly record content including information on clinical conditions or vital signs through mechanisms such as menus, predefined fields or checklis
We provide clinical documentation templates for a number of varieties (please call us for details), orders, medications, Meaningful Use. We also provide treatment guidance within the clinical documentation templates.
Do you charge additional fees for any of templates?
No
Can clients customize existing templates?
Yes
ABELMed includes a template editor. Clients can also build their own customized templates. ABEL provides training (individual or through documentation).
Can clients use tools provided through the system to develop their own templates?
Yes
ABELMed includes a template editor.
Will your company build custom custom templates to the practices specifications?
Yes
Fees may apply.
If a doctor has created a custom template in their EHR, will the templates and custom rules be maintained when new full releases and patches are installed?
Yes
Support & Maintenance
What is the process for managing questions and service requests?
We offer exemplary post sales service. Support is available on 24/7/365 basis via Toll Free telephone help, resource rich customer portal and email. All service requests are tracked and managed using a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software.
Are different tiers of support offered (including pricing information)?
Yes
Throughout the problem determination process, the Incident may travel through multiple support tiers, depending on the complexity and nature of the resolution effort. ABEL's Support Options provide customers with a choice of packages/pricing.
What are the options for a client to contact your company for support?
Telephone support with Live answering, Email support
What level and type(s) of support are provided during go-live?
ABEL provides both On site and remote support during go-live.
Is a formal users' group, online community forum or other form of social networking community available?
ABEL has a formal user input process. Users are encouraged to provide their feedback for future development of features and functionality.
What are the standard hours of operation during which support is provided?
24/7/365 toll free telephone support with Live answering during our standard hours of operation:
5:30 am to 2:30 pm PST,
6:30 am to 3:30 pm MST,
7:30 am to 4:30 pm CST,
8:30 am to 5:30 pm EST.
What are the steps for a client to escalate a support request?
Support analysts answer calls live, if all lines are busy the caller has the option to wait on the line or leave a message. Urgent issues may be escalated by calling reception.
Do you use off-shore technical support?
No
Are software upgrades provided as part of the software maintenance contract?
Yes
The clients can install the upgrades on their own or get assistance from our support department if required.
How are customer requests for enhancements and customizations handled?
Customer requests for enhancements and customizations are reviewed regularly by our Change Control Team. If necessary, a telephone meeting is scheduled to get the exact requirements. The change requests are slotted for implementation in future releases.
How are drug interaction tools updated in your system?
Regular updates from our premier drug database, First DataBank are available which keep the system up to date regarding drug interactions. The system also creates alerts if the updates are not up to date. No additional costs.
How are patient education materials updated in your system?
We use Krames patient education materials. Updates from Krames are available in real time. No additional cost for updates.
How are requests from clients handle for customizations of their system post “go-live”?
Clients can communicate their requests for customizations through their account manager or vial email. The process described above for handling enhancements is followed.
Is remote monitoring available with the ability to alert clients about system problems?
Yes
We offer a Remote monitoring and administration service at an additional cost
What is your recommended backup strategy?
We recommend secure backups be performed over the Internet at least daily.
Do you offer remote backup for a client's system?
Yes
Remote backup service is offered at an additional cost.
When an interface goes down, how is that information recovered?
All sent or received messages are logged so recovery is easily facilitated. Alerts appear within ABELMed indicating that a problem exists with either sending or receiving information.
Reporting Tools
Does your system provide a reporting tool with pre-formatted reports?
Yes
Is your reporting tool able to create the following reports?
1.Generate a list of all patients with a chronic condition (e.g. Diabetes, COPD)
2.Generate a list of all patients with a specific condition who have not been seen within a defined period
3.Generate a list of all patients with a specific condition and lab result who have not been seen within a defined period. (e.g. diabetic patients with a HbA1c=9 not seen in the last 4 months)
4.Generate a list of all patients on a specific drug with an active medical problem
1.Yes
2.Yes
3.Yes
4.Yes
Are these reporting tools bundled with the EHR system or provided as add-ons?
Yes
A number of commonly required reports are preconfigured and are included in ABELMed. Customized reports are chargable at our support rates.
Does your system support PQRI (Physician Quality Reporting Initiative) reporting?
Yes
Order Management Tools
Does your program provide any order management tools?
Yes
No additional costs.
Does your program provide any document management tools?
Yes
Does your program provide any other workflow management tools?
Yes
Detailed reports to manage workflow are available. Additional information available upon request.
Patient Health Record (Portal)
Do you offer a Patient Health Record that integrates into your system?
Yes
PHR services are available at additional cost.
Data Conversion
Do you offer data conversion services from other products to your product?
Yes
Data conversion is available for:
Billing data
Demographic data
Clinical data
Metadata
What are the data conversion and transfer costs?
Conversion costs may or may not apply and are determined on an individual basis.