February 28, 2003

Automatic teller machines, compact discs, television remote controls, microwave ovens and cellular phones — all modern inventions that make everyday life easier. These same items are featured in a poster campaign to help educate MGHers about the Patient Administrative Cycle Enhancements (PACE) project. The posters are being distributed this week in outpatient practices and portions of CNY.

Just as cell phones have made modern-day communication easier and more convenient, and ATMs have revolutionized the world of banking, the PACE program will change the way the hospital interacts administratively with outpatients. A joint effort between the MGH and the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization (MGPO), the PACE project will redesign outpatient administrative processes, provide enhanced technology to support these streamlined processes and ultimately provide a significant financial benefit to the hospital and the MGPO.

PACE teams have been working diligently during the past year to implement the first phase of the three-year project. These teams are gearing up to launch a pilot portion of the project with several of the outpatient practices sometime in late March. Additional information will be disseminated in the coming months through articles in Hotline, department and practice presentations as well as at open house sessions to be held at the end of March.

For more information about the project, visit the PACE website at http://intranet.partners.org/mghidx/pace/.