Judge Denies Allscripts' Motion To Dismiss Physician Class Action Lawsuit

Miami-Dade County Circuit Court Judge John W. Thornton denied Allscripts Healthcare Solutions' motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against it by physicians who use its MyWay electronic health records (EHR) system.

Chicago-based Allscripts (NASDAQ: MDRX) was hit with the lawsuit on Dec. 20 by Panama City-based Pain Clinic of Northwest FL, on behalf of about 5,000 small group physicians who used MyWay until the company announced late last year that it would stop supporting the system. The clinic, represented by Adam M. Moskowitz of Coral Gables-based Kozyak, Tropin & Throckmorton, claims that the EHR did not work as intended, and that the forced switch to another records system carries substantial costs for medical practices.

Allscripts announced in October that it would discontinue MyWay and transition its users to the EHR Pro software program for free. This program was previously offered only to large medical groups. The complaint alleges that making the switch required significant staff training and costs and the program wasn't designed for smaller practices, but Allscripts charged thousands of dollars to practices who wanted to leave them and take their medical records with them...