Southeast Texas Medical Associates, LLP James L. Holly, M.D. Southeast Texas Medical Associates, LLP


Your Life Your Health - Southeast Texas Medical Associates earns prestigious national Davies Award of Excellence
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Brenda Cannon Stancil, Staff Writer
October 27, 2005
Your Life Your Health - The Examiner
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recently announced that Southeast Texas Medical Associates earned a Nicholas E. Davis Award of Excellence for 2005.

In the HIMSS announcement, Diane Carr, associate executive director, healthcare information systems, Queens Health Network and chair of the Ambulatory Care Davies Award committee, said, "We honored three practices nationwide that faced and overcame unique challenges when implementing the electronic health record into their operations. These clinics and their staffs have been recognized for introducing an EHR system that benefited both the needs of their patients and the practice itself to provide better care and improved efficiencies in that delivery of care."

Southeast Texas Medical Associates (SETMA) opened in 1995 as a single location, primary care practice in Beaumont with five providers utilizing transcription for documenting medical records. "It has since grown to three clinical locations and a fully integrated operational electronic health record system with 24 physicians and a staff of 260," said Dr. Larry Holly, founding partner.

During the 11-year history of the Organizational Davies Award, only 22 healthcare organizations have been recognized. The award is named for Dr. Nicholas E. Davies, an Atlanta based practice physician committed to the ideal of improving patient care through better health information management. He was a member of the Institute of Medicine patient record study committee, which coined the term "computer-based patient record." Dr. Davies was chairperson-elect of the American College of Physicians. In April 1991, he was tragically killed in a plane crash with Sen. John G. Tower (Rep.) of Texas. His ideas live on in the Davies Award of Excellence.

The objectives of the Davies Awards are to recognize and encourage excellence in the implementation of EHR systems. The program recognizes healthcare provider organizations that successfully use EHR systems to improve healthcare delivery. HIMSS says the program further promotes the vision of EHR systems through concrete examples, helps to understand and share the documented value of EHR systems, provides visibility and recognition for high-impact EHR systems and helps to share successful EHR implementation strategies.

"The winners of the 2005 Davies Awards of Excellence demonstrate not only the determination and achievements of these healthcare organizations and clinicians, but also, an opportunity that exists for others to implement health information technology to benefit their system needs and patient base," said Patricia Wise RN, MSN, MA, vice-president HIMSS EHR Initiatives. "HIMSS congratulates Dr. Larry Holly and SETMA for their dedication to improving patient care through technology."

Patrick Cline, president of NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., wrote of the award, "An official congratulations, Larry, on your outstanding achievement winning the Davies Award. You and SETMA deserve this more than any other practice and were very proud of our relationship with and your leading-edge practice. You truly set the bar."

Brenda Cannon Stancil can be reached at (409) 832-1400, ext. #227 or at bstancil@theexaminer.com.