PRESS RELEASE

Hi, folks.  Dana and I want to give you a quick update on the progress of Encore since we launched the company early this year.  We are off to a great start, having grown our team to more than 30 people with 15 core clients.  Considering we’re in a recession, with most of our clients being very selective on using consultants, we’re very happy with our progress.

Although I’d like to think we’re smart enough to set a long-term vision and strategy on our own, we’ve learned otherwise over the years – just look at our grey hair! Since February, we’ve met with more than 150 CIOs and industry friends across the country, and in every meeting we asked for advice on the focus and direction of Encore. Because of our strong network of hundreds of consultants who flowed through Healthlink, we were confident we could hire the best and the brightest.  However, if the ship was pointed in the wrong direction, our business would fail. Your feedback led us to an immediate focus in four areas.

First, a common theme across most of our conversations was the need for seasoned veterans with strong project management experience.  These are consultants you can hand a project or a sticky problem over to and expect success with little oversight on your part.  Additionally, due to their having done similar projects in the past, new ideas on better methods and tools should be expected.

A second common theme across the country is the need for quick, inexpensive strategic planning.  ARRA, healthcare reform and physician pressures are causing healthcare organizations to take a fresh look at IT strategy, staffing and budget, but the days of $500,000 planning efforts are long past.  As a result, we’ve been refining a rapid “SWAT team” approach to validate an organization’s strategic direction.

A third area of focus for Encore will be data analytics and reporting. Many providers are well into their EMR implementations and are starting to grapple with how to govern, aggregate and report on the massive amounts of new data being collected.  This need will be accelerated by healthcare reform, where reimbursement will become increasingly based on quality outcomes reporting. 

Lastly, again as a result of ARRA, community physician strategies and implementations are now a priority.  The relaxation of Stark started this process, but with funding now available for system acquisition and implementation, it’s on everyone’s list.   As a result, we’ve developed a set of strategic services to define how to serve this market as well as a low-cost approach to implementations.

There were many other suggestions received in our conversations.  We will be responsive to many of these requests if we have the expertise to perform the projects with quality.  

Many thanks again to you in helping to make this a true partnership.  Your advice and wisdom have been instrumental in forming Encore’s vision and strategy. Expect us to keep listening.  It’s what we do best.

Best regards,

Ivo Nelson      Dana Sellers
Chairman       CEO