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Building on the Patrick-Murray Administration’s efforts to advance innovation in health information technology, Governor Deval Patrick recently joined representatives from eClinicalWorks to participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the company’s newly expanded headquarters. The project has helped create 200 new jobs and retain 400 at the company's campus in Westborough.
“By partnering with companies like eClinicalWorks, we are supporting the innovation that creates the jobs of tomorrow right now and reduces health care costs over the long term,” said Governor Patrick.
eClinicalWorks is an electronic health records provider, headquartered out of Westborough, and one of the Commonwealth’s rapidly growing eHealth companies.
The Patrick-Murray Administration’s Economic Assistance Coordinating Council (EACC) awarded the company a total of $1.56 million in investment tax credits through the Economic Development Incentive Program (EDIP) last Spring. This investment from the state helped facilitate the purchase and renovation of the company's headquarters at 2 Technology Drive. In exchange, eClinicalWorks pledged to create 130 new jobs, retain 400 jobs and invest $18.1 million in the project. The company has already exceeded that number, creating 200 jobs and continuing to grow.
“eClinicalWorks has experienced a high-level of success and growth, which stems directly from the commitment of our employees and trust of our customers,” said Girish Kumar Navani, CEO and co-founder of eClinicalWorks. “We work hard to make sure that our customers have the resources and education required to take advantage of incentive programs, including the federal stimulus reimbursement for demonstrating meaningful use of electronic health records. We are honored to have Governor Patrick as our guest today and look forward to continued growth.”
Massachusetts has received approximately $28 million in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants to support health IT initiatives across the state. Under the leadership of the Patrick-Murray Administration, Massachusetts is the first state in the nation to reach its goal of enrolling health care providers to adopt the use of electronic health records. Through the Massachusetts Regional Extension Center, more than 2,500 health care providers have enrolled with the Massachusetts eHealth Institute (MeHI) as part of the state’s efforts to accelerate the adoption of electronic health records in the Commonwealth.
Support for eHealth has been a key component of Governor Patrick’s efforts to promote cost-containment, transparency and efficiency in the delivery of quality health care. Working with the Legislature and key stakeholders throughout the health care community, in 2008 the Patrick-Murray Administration helped to establish MeHI as a subdivision of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a public economic development agency aimed at supporting technology-related enterprises in Massachusetts.
Earlier this month, the Patrick-Murray Administration hosted a two-day Health IT conference in Worcester to discuss this progress with industry representatives and stakeholders.
Governor Patrick also filed comprehensive health care payment and delivery reform legislation in February designed to control rising health care costs and improve patient care. The Governor's proposal encourages the growth of “accountable care organizations,” (ACOs) comprised of groups of providers that work together to achieve improved health outcomes for patients at lower costs; provides benchmarks, standards and guidance for the transition to integrated care and global payments; and allows the Division of Insurance (DOI) to consider more criteria when making the decision to either approve or reject rate increase requests from both carriers and providers.
For more on the Massachusetts eHealth Institute, please visit: www.maehi.org.
