The Department of Homeland Security has gone live with eClinicalWorks' cloud-based electronic health record system at 23 sites across the country.

One thousand medical professionals who help manage care at all 23 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities are using the technology to create a complete longitudinal patient records and share data between facilities. Integration with its current systems, including laboratory, radiology and pharmacy, will extend the benefits, officials say.

The eClinicalWorks system is a key part of Harris Corporation’s solution to deliver integrated medical records, patient tracking and shared information throughout the ICE Health Service Corps.

"ICE has a frequent need to send medical information across different locations, which is cumbersome when each site has its own system," said Capt. Deanna Gephart, deputy assistant director of operations for ICE Health Service Corps, in a press statement. "The Department has standardized on an EHR system that allows it to seamlessly share information. eClinicalWorks has been working with ICE to rapidly deploy this solution with features that are unique to this organization."

As eClinicalWorks executives see it, using its EHR helps ICE streamline processes and improve care and also help providers employ chronic and preventative care measures, including those that are unique to the setting such as intake screening process flows, electronic medication administration and infirmary management.

eClinicalWorks is working with Harris, the prime contractor, and ICE to develop additional functionalities and integration with its current laboratory, radiology and pharmacy systems.

Westborough, Mass.-based eClinicalWorks has proven popular with small and large physician practices across the country. New York went bullish on eClinicalWorks early on, prompting CEO Girish Navani to open an office in Manhattan.

In April 2007, The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced it would provide electronic medical records and practice management software to 1,300 providers caring for underserved and vulnerable populations in the city. Navani said that eClinicalWorks would develop a Take Care New York version of its EMR/PM software, and that any additions and enhancements would ultimately become part of the core product that is available to physicians across the United States.

[See also: New York City brings EMRs to primary care providers.]

This was the project that Farzad Mostashari, MD, led when he was at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene before he served as National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

In 2009, research firm KLAS examined the rapid rise of eClinicalWorks. The research revealed that the majority of providers interviewed were very satisfied with their eClinicalWorks EMR. Overall, 93 percent of customers said the EMR functionality met or exceeded their expectations, and 97 percent stated the overall cost of adoption met or exceeded their expectations. As one customer put it, eClinicalWorks was selected "because they were one-third of the price of the others and had better functionality than the rest."

[See also: KLAS examines rapid rise of eClinicalWorks.]