Patients of The Iowa Clinic will be able to access their records online, using a component of an electronic medical record system planned by the multi-specialty physician group.

The Iowa Clinic announced last week its choice of Allscripts Inc., a Chicago-based provider of clinical software, to install TouchWorks Electronic Health Record system.

After the Web-based system is installed in June, it will take from 12 to 18 months to fully implement it, said C. Edward Brown, CEO of the 119-physician group.

“The clinic believes that information technology is a key part of transforming healthcare,” Brown said. “Our physicians are embracing this transformation and believe our partnership with Allscripts will enable The Iowa Clinic to provide its patients a delivery process that will be more efficient with enhanced clinical care.”

In addition to allowing the clinic’s physicians to instantly access patient records whether the patient is at one of the clinic’s locations or at a hospital, the system will also give patients a means of accessing those electronic records.

Using Allscripts’ TouchWorks iHealth, patients will be given secure online access to their personal health records, and will also be able to register for appointments and request prescription refills online. Also, patients will be able to access health-related information posted by their physicians, and will ultimately be provided with a means for communicating directly with their doctors online.

Founded in 1993, the physician-owned Iowa Clinic serves nearly 20 Central Iowa communities with specialty and primary-care services.

In making the announcement, the clinic joins Mercy Medical Center, Iowa Health – Des Moines and Iowa Heart Center in implementing electronic medical record systems. Brown said he views connectivity between each of these systems as “critical” for providing coordinated care in Central Iowa.

“We’ve had some preliminary discussions with the hospitals about interfacing with their systems,” he said. “I think it’s in our mutual interest to move in that direction.”

Brown declined to specify the clinic’s investment in the system, citing its contract with Allscripts not to disclose that information.

“The cost of this transition is capital-intensive, but its return over the long run is mitigated by the quality of information available to us, as well as the efficiency and having it available to the doctors, nurses and the patients,” he said.

Six months ago, The Iowa Clinic installed an electronic system in which all of the images in its radiology department are captured and stored digitally. That system, made by IDX Systems Corp., will become part of the clinic’s overall EMR system when it is completed.

The clinic also plans to integrate TouchWorks with its financial management system, which was also installed by IDX. Now a part of GE Healthcare, Burlington, Vt.-based IDX has a strategic relationship with Allscripts that will allow the companies to link the clinic’s financial and clinical systems.

Allscripts, whose stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market, recorded net income of $9.7 million in 2005, a 212 percent increase from 2004. The company, which serves 20,000 physicians, had total revenues of $120.6 million in 2005, compared to $100.8 million in 2004.