Orange County, New York-based Horizon Family Medical Group has earned a 2016 HIMSS Ambulatory Davies Award of Excellence.

Horizon Family Medical Group, with more than 100 physicians and 40 locations in the Hudson River Valley, has demonstrated advanced use of health information technology to improve care.

HMFG was able to reduce its 30-day readmissions by 30 percent in just a year, thanks to its use of transition of care managers and an EHR-based tool that helped assess patients' risk status at the bedside. The care management tool helped standardize strategies for patient follow-up, appointment scheduling and care plan adherence monitoring.

The medical group also used clinical decision support and analytics to ensure high compliance with standardized care for drug and alcohol screening and weight management, reducing high alcohol consumption by 18 percent for at-risk patients.

Meanwhile it was able to increase provider time with patients increased by 27 percent for scheduled 15-minute appointments allowing more direct patient counseling.

"As an ambulatory care organization that has leveraged people process and technology to significantly reduce avoidable hospital readmissions, Horizon Family Medical group exemplifies how collaborative teamwork, effective planning and use of health IT can result in sustainable improvements in patient outcomes," said Jonathan French, senior director, health information systems, and the Davies Award program for HIMSS.

"Building a culture where good business results follow good medicine, we remain committed and enthused about technology, quality care, and lowering costs," said Horizon Family Medical Group CEO James Olver, in a statement. "We are delighted to share our story about the impact each group can have in a sustainable model."

Horizon Family Medical Group will be recognized in a ceremony at HIMSS17, which takes place Feb. 19-23, 2017 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

This article is part of our ongoing coverage of HIMSS17. Visit Destination HIMSS17 for previews, reporting live from the show floor and after the conference.