Elation Health Chosen for Innovation Lab to Reduce Burdens for Family Physicians

BOSTON, Oct. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Elation Health, which offers a clinical-first electronic health records (EHR) platform for independent primary care, today announced it has been chosen by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) to collaborate with its Innovation Lab. As a key EHR vendor working with AAFP's Innovation Lab, Elation will explore new models of care delivery and cutting-edge technologies that have the potential to reduce documentation burden, decrease burnout, and improve patient and clinician experience that creates better health outcomes for family medicine.

"Traditional EHRs have greatly eroded health care experiences rather than enhancing them," explained Steven Waldren, MD, MS, AAFP vice president and chief medical informatics officer. "In studying promising new technologies in family medicine, we found interoperability to be key. We have worked with multiple EHR vendors, and Elation's platform provides the type of support and open architecture that meet our Innovation Lab requirements. When we discovered that Elation users were actually delighted with their EHR -- high praise about an EHR from physicians -- we knew we'd found an ideal collaborator for the next phase of our Innovation Lab efforts." 

Whether innovating through new payment models like Direct Primary Care (DPC) or new delivery platforms from venture capital-backed start-ups, primary care is reinventing itself all over the nation. To achieve success in healthcare, family medicine physicians need EHRs like Elations to provide an open, collaborative platform that supports an integrated technology ecosystem along with a stellar user experience. Elation's focus on a clinical-first design approach respects, rather than disrupts, the sanctity of the primary care physician and patient relationship. Elation gives primary care teams the tools necessary to create the value that only primary care can deliver, which aligns with the goals and mission of the AAFP.

"Too many family physicians across the U.S. are burned out, trapped in traditional, legacy technology built around coding and billing, entirely unprepared for a value-based, patient-relationship, collaborative-care future," shared Sara Pastoor, MD, MHA, FAAFP, Director of Primary Care Advancement at Elation Health. "With primary care physicians spending an extra 1-2 hours doing "paperwork" for every 1 hour of face to face patient care, it is no surprise EHRs that have promised greater efficiency and better health outcomes have failed to deliver on either one. In fact, it has added to physician workload and driven up the overhead burden, with the cost of technology usurping funds which could have been invested in resources that drive value directly to patients. Considering the primary care shortage in America, we are very excited to align Elation's work with AAFP's vision to support physicians caring for patients while using health IT that works for them, not against them." 

In order to address frustrations from EHR burdens, the AAFP first established the Innovation Lab to partner with industry leaders to drive innovation with the latest proven technologies to mitigate physician burnout and optimize the medical experience. In addition, the AAFP, along with Elation and 11 other organizations, formed Primary Care for America (PCfA). PCfA is focused on demonstrating the value of primary care, the need for increased primary care investment, and the importance of innovation in primary care delivery and payment models to policy makers. 

Traditional EHRs designed to support the widespread fee-for-service payment model restrict innovation and interoperability and come with vendor-locked business models. The Innovation Lab team looks instead for EHRs with an open, interoperable platform receptive to integration with additional technologies for a full tech stack that is seamless for the user. The first phase of the Innovation Lab pilot with Elation will assess the DPC delivery model to determine how this alternative payment structure impacts care experiences and outcomes. The second phase of the pilot will measure the benefits of the Elation platform. 

Powering the largest network of independent primary care, Elation's offerings in addition to a fully certified EHR include HIPAA-compliant telehealth to support virtual care, Medicare and Medicaid quality programs to close care gaps and alleviate reporting burden, as well as new patient engagement capabilities to better support online scheduling and patient relationship management.

To learn more about Elation's ability to scale successful outcomes, meet teammates in Boston this week at HLTH's Conference at the Boston Convention Center, booth #K-1013.

For more information about Elation's platform for independent primary care, visit elationhealth.com. For more details and to learn how to participate, visit AAFP's Innovation Lab website. 

About Elation Health 
Elation Health is the most trusted technology platform for independent primary care. Since 2010, the company has delivered clinical-first solutions ? built on an award-winning collaborative electronic health record ? that help practices start, grow, communicate, and succeed in delivering the highest-quality personalized care to patients. Elation Health is empowering primary care providers to uphold the craft of medicine, while thriving in an evolving healthcare landscape. Today, Elation Health serves 14,000 clinicians caring for seven million Americans. Learn more at elationhealth.com, LinkedIn, and Twitter. 

SOURCE Elation Health