Gonzales Healthcare modernizes clinical care with McKesson’s medical imaging solutions

ATLANTA, June 3, 2014 – Gonzales Healthcare Systems in Gonzales, Texas has implemented a wide range of medical imaging solutions from McKesson. Following a competitive evaluation process, the hospital chose McKesson for its proven ability to rapidly deploy integrated healthcare IT solutions with enhanced functionality that better integrate patient data, test results and images, while streamlining workflow, increasing collaboration and enhancing productivity for providers. The systems are designed to help enhance clinician productivity and foster better coordinated, more efficient patient care. “We were seeking a medical imaging solution that was highly integrated and would link all our providers with one interoperable solution to help optimize medical imaging operations and streamline workflow across the care continuum,” said Chuck Norris, CEO, Gonzales Healthcare Systems. “It was also extremely important that this system be able to help us meet our goals for obtaining meaningful use criteria under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. McKesson was able to do that. Their high level of coordination, deep industry experience and commitment to service were essential factors in our decision.” Similar to other rural hospitals, Gonzales, a 34-bed, acute-care community hospital, plays a vital role in the delivery of healthcare to their surrounding community and like larger, complex facilities, must strive to keep costs down while adopting innovative technology. This was one of the reasons they chose McKesson Radiology™. They found McKesson’s industry leading healthcare IT solutions’ architecture to be flexible and scalable to suit a hospital of their size and complexity while still helping them to modernize the care that they can provide to their patients. Funding for the new medical imaging systems came through a grant from USDA Rural Development. McKesson worked closely with the Gonzales Healthcare Systems Foundation in obtaining the funding to continue the hospital’s strategic mission of providing state of the art healthcare to the county and surrounding service area. These programs provide funding for rural health IT infrastructure, including healthcare IT solutions, and expand local access to high quality health care services for rural Americans nationwide. These programs include the Community Facilities loan and grant program, the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant program and the Rural Economic Development loan and grant program. “We were deeply impressed by McKesson’s ability to provide medical imaging systems tailored to the needs of a short- term, acute care hospital like ours,” said Connie Kacir, executive director, Gonzales Healthcare Systems Foundation. “They understood the special challenges, both in terms of technology and financial resources, that rural hospitals face and worked closely with us to bridge that gap.” “As healthcare providers increasingly demand maximum return from their IT investments, the need for a scalable, enterprise-wide approach to medical imaging has never been greater,” said Erkan Akyuz, president of Imaging & Workflow Solutions, McKesson. “Regardless of a facility’s size, these powerful imaging technologies deliver full integration and interoperability to help physicians share patient data so they can better connect and coordinate care – all essential elements for success in the modern healthcare environment and an integral part of McKesson’s Better Health 2020 commitment.” With Better Health 2020TM, McKesson is empowering its customers to more strategically use healthcare IT solutions for better business, care and connectivity throughout their organizations. Better Health 2020 is designed to help support providers as they address today’s complex healthcare challenges, including the need to reduce healthcare IT costs, coordinate care, and connect imaging with the complete patient record. ### About Gonzales Healthcare Systems Gonzales Healthcare Systems includes Memorial Hospital, a general acute-care facility with 34 beds, 20 physicians on staff and a Level IV trauma department. The current facility, built in 1978, follows a tradition of community service begun by the Holmes Hospital, which opened in 1921. For more information, go to www.gonzaleshealthcare.com. About McKesson Corporation McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 15th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We partner with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit us at www.mckesson.com.