Mammoth Hospital goes electronic
Mammoth Hospital recently reached a significant milestone implementing Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) in a nationally incentivized push to move patient charting to an electronic format.
Electronic Medical Records, (EMRs) allow for more complete and accurate charting, making health information available when and where it is needed for better informed decisions and more coordinated care. Hospital EMRs allow a provider to quickly and accurately order labs, medical images, and other services, greatly improving efficiency of each patient visit.
EMRs also allow for the aggregation of all available patient medical information in one electronic chart whether the information comes from a clinic visit, the emergency department, or an inpatient hospital stay. Clinical alerting is also integrated into the EMR process so that a provider is notified of potential allergic reactions to medications based on a patient’s medical history.
Not only do Electronic Medical Records improve patient and provider convenience, implementing the software is a major step in meeting meaningful use; an evolving term all major hospitals are moving toward in order to qualify for federal incentive funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Government incentives and programs are helping health care providers across the nation currently relying on medical record systems based on paper to make the switch to EMRs to improve patient care. Hospitals meeting all the meaningful use criteria are then authorized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to become a “meaningful user” of certified Electronic Medical Record technology and to qualify for reimbursements while improving quality and efficiency of care for their patients.
The Computerized Provider Order Entry implementation was a great success due to the efforts of Mark Lind, IT Director, Sara Sillcox, Nursing Informatics Specialist; Ellen Cho, Pharmacist; Erica Wells, Med Surg Nurse Manager and the Med Surg nursing team; the Siemens implementation team; and the outstanding support received from hospitalists Dr. Cherkassky and Dr. Khurana. Within a week, Mammoth Hospital had 67% of physician medication orders entered electronically; well above the meaningful use requirement of 30%.
For more information on Mammoth Hospital and its ongoing efforts to improve patient care, visit www.mammothhospital.com.
