OREANDA-NEWS. March 07, 2013. Covenant Health in Knoxville, Tenn., and Capital Region Health Care in Concord, N.H., have become the latest health systems to choose Paragon®, McKesson's contemporary Microsoft®-based hospital information system (HIS).

The top-rated clinical and financial solution has helped hospitals and health systems reduce health IT operational costs and deliver better patient care. With its single database, Paragon is a foundational solution in McKesson's Better Health 2020™ strategy, which focuses on technologies to reduce costs, improve performance and quality, coordinate care and navigate complex payment models.

"Given the modern design of the Paragon platform, we feel that this is a natural progression in our long-standing relationship with McKesson, as we partner to meet the complex needs of our clinicians and patients and respond to the demands of healthcare reform," said Anthony Spezia, president and chief executive officer, Covenant Health. "This represents a great opportunity to forge a comprehensive strategy that addresses evolving physician, hospital and community needs, while also enabling us to maximize our current technology investments."

"The IT healthcare systems that our industry currently uses must significantly change and evolve for organizations to thrive in an accountable care environment," said Deane Morrison, chief information officer, Capital Region Healthcare, a multi-facility health system. "With their comprehensive experience providing solutions for all segments of healthcare, and the state-of-the-art integrated suite of Paragon applications, McKesson is perfectly positioned to lead that transformation."

Paragon, the solution of choice for more than 250 healthcare facilities nationwide, is designed to reduce complexity and cost of ownership. The platform is helping hospitals across the country to streamline their IT operations. With the broad range of capabilities offered by the HIS and its other technology solutions, McKesson is equipped to help those providers thrive in a changing market and prepare for long-term growth beyond the immediate challenges of reform.

"McKesson is committed to being a strong partner to our customers as they take on the challenges of this decade and beyond," said Pat Blake, president, McKesson Technology Solutions. "With our broad portfolio of IT solutions, we can help our customers address today's requirements while enabling them to drive meaningful improvements in clinical and financial outcomes as they assume risk and enter into new relationships for care delivery. Paragon continues to be an important part of that value proposition."