DALLAS, TX -- (Marketwire) -- 11/13/12 -- Phytel, the leader in automated, provider-led population health improvement, announced today that Orlando Health, one of Florida's most comprehensive private, not-for-profit healthcare networks, has selected Phytel's Atmosphere™ suite of Web-based population health management tools as a critical component of its strategy to build new healthcare delivery models. All of the primary care physicians in the 400-doctor Orlando Health Physician Group will use Phytel's Outreach, Insight, and Coordinate modules to ensure that every patient receives the most appropriate intervention and follow-up care. Additionally, Orlando Health will introduce Phytel Transition to improve post-discharge care coordination and reduce preventable readmissions.

Rick Schooler, Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Orlando Health and winner of the prestigious CHIME/HIMSS John E. Gall, Jr. CIO of The Year award, commented, "Of all the systems we've invested in as an organization or are considering adopting, nothing is currently more critical to our strategy of being able to effectuate population health, improve quality, and lower cost than Phytel. The fact that Phytel has already integrated its solution with many of the leading EHRs is also important, because it would mean private practice physicians in any accountable care organization we may form would have access to Phytel's vital reports on patient care gaps. Overall, I've been encouraged by Phytel's successful implementations at other complex health systems."

Orlando Health has pursued numerous strategies to adjust to the fast-evolving value-based system of health, which rewards providers commensurate with the quality of care they deliver. To succeed in a value-based environment, Orlando Health's leaders realized they needed population health and care management tools that went far beyond the capabilities offered by their electronic health record (EHR). After an extensive search by administrators, IT staff, and physicians, Orlando Health chose Phytel because it offered the best combination of field-tested solutions that fit clinician workflows, patient engagement tools, and integration. That integration was especially important because Orlando Health is affiliated with hundreds of community physicians who use a variety of EHRs from different vendors and who may at some point join the health system in forming an ACO.

In selecting Phytel for population health, Orlando Health was particularly encouraged by the recognition of Phytel by the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA), which credentials PCMHs. Moreover, the health system's leaders recognized that Phytel could enable an ACO to quickly scale up its population health management efforts.

"It's going to be absolutely critical to our success as a value-based organization, and potentially an ACO, that we have a product like Phytel to help us manage our population's health," said Jennifer Endicott, Vice President of Clinical Integrations for Orlando Health. "Phytel's care management tools have a seamless end-user interface that makes them easy for clinicians to use. And, unlike the other solutions we looked at, Phytel includes a well-thought-out patient engagement piece that fits right into our patient portal. Its solution is also well-designed to help us obtain recognition of patient-centered medical homes, because aspects of NCQA's criteria are integrated into Phytel's product."

Phytel also plans to integrate its web-based solution with Orlando Health's health information exchange and patient portal platforms, enabling physicians and patients to conveniently access information pertinent to their respective needs and priorities. Both Phytel and Orlando Health believe this integration is vital to support streamlined provider workflows as well as effective engagement of patients.

Steve Schelhammer, CEO of Phytel, said, "Orlando Health's decision to adopt Phytel's complete solution across their entire organization is a strong signal of confidence in our company and our ability to implement at scale and on time. We are committed to helping Orlando Health -- one of the premier healthcare systems in the country -- gain patient-centered medical home recognition and build a successful accountable care organization. With the assistance of our user-friendly care coordination tools, expertise in patient engagement, and knowledge of population health management, we're confident that Orlando Health will achieve its goals."

About Phytel
The premier company empowering physician-led population health improvement, Phytel provides physicians with proven technology to deliver timely, coordinated care to their patients. Phytel's state-of-the-art registry, which now encompasses more than 25 million patients nationwide, uses evidence-based chronic and preventive care protocols to identify and notify patients due for service, while tracking compliance and measuring quality and financial results. For more information, please visit www.phytel.com. Follow us on Twitter and find us on Facebook.

About Orlando Health
Orlando Health is a $1.9 billion not-for-profit health care organization and a community-based network of hospitals and care centers throughout Central Florida. The organization, which includes the area's only Level One Trauma Centers for adults and pediatrics, is a statutory teaching hospital system that offers both specialty and community hospitals. They are: Orlando Regional Medical Center; Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children; Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies; Dr. P. Phillips Hospital; South Seminole Hospital; Health Central Hospital, South Lake Hospital (50 percent affiliation); St. Cloud Regional Medical Center (20 percent affiliation), and MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando -- the first affiliate of one of the nation's premier cancer centers, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. In all, Orlando Health serves 1.6 million Central Florida residents and nearly 3,000 international patients annually. More information can be found at www.orlandohealth.com.

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