Maria Parham Medical Center Kicks Off Hospital-Wide EMR
1/12/2010
Maria Parham Medical Center Kicks Off Hospital-Wide EMR
The patient’s medical record is a collection of very important health documents that tell a story about the person’s past and is an important tool in treating future health issues. Traditionally, medical records have been paper hard copies of everything from lab results to the physician’s summary of your health. Over the years, a person’s medical record gets thicker and thicker, often requiring several folders to contain one’s health history. Add to that, the necessity to keep these health records for many years, and you have a severe storage issue. More importantly, the massive amount of medical records can also contribute to slowing down a patient’s treatment, as it takes time to physically walk to Medical Records, retrieve the specific file and then study the papers in the file. Fortunately, a solution for this paper storm is just around the corner with the emergence of electronic medical records.
Maria Parham Medical Center is kicking off the hospital-wide electronic medical record (EMR) initiative code-named HPF (Horizon Patient Folder) and HBF (Horizon Business Folder). The initial phase of the HPF will be to digitally scan all components of the patient’s medical record that are not already in digital format. This will allow the hospital to keep the patient’s file electronically, thus reducing storage space and again, most importantly, allowing faster and more efficient access to their health information. The patient’s medical record will be available to patient care providers who have access through the hospital’s patient information system. It is important to mention that these records are under heavy security, requiring passwords, and those passwords are available only on a need-to-know basis. All of the data is also routinely backed-up to insure safe record keeping.
Maria Parham Medical Center has spent much time and effort in the preparation of the HPF & HBF Initiatives. Timetables have been in place for several years, but they have been modified to comply with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) last year. This Act, also known as the Stimulus Package, called for a number of changes in the infrastructures of organizations, including healthcare, to make them more efficient and quick to react in today’s ever-changing environment.
When it comes to providing better patient safety and care, EMRs have many advantages over the old paper chart. Physicians will have a patient’s health records literally at their fingertips, both while they are in the hospital, and even after they leave the facility. For example, a patient may be told to schedule a follow up visit with their family physician. On this visit, with EMRs, the family physician will be able to instantly pull the patient’s hospital medical record up on his or her computer. This is an obvious benefit to the patient as well, as the physician will be better able to answer any questions that the patient may have.
Dr. Khanh Vu, family practice physician with Vance Family Medicine and a board member of Maria Parham, says, “Physicians rely on the most current patient care information to make sound clinical decisions, and with Maria Parham’s electronic health record initiative, the hospital is improving our abilities to do that in a more convenient and real-time way. It will entail a lot of work and will not happen overnight, but the benefits could be very significant for patient care.”
This initiative to follow the technology trail is just one of several Maria Parham has instituted recently. Last spring the hospital began using PACS (picture archiving and communication system). PACS allows for all radiological images that were previously stored on film, to be stored digitally. Just last month, the hospital installed a new state-of-the-art digital mammography system for its patients.
Bob Singletary, President and CEO of Maria Parham Medical Center, comments, “Maria Parham has taken the stance that we will be vigilant in investing in cutting edge technology to provide a safer environment for patients, to increase the quality of care, and to lower costs. This is exactly what these recent technological advances we have added give our patients.” He continues, “It is an ongoing process, but we are confident that with the help of our physicians and staff that we will have the most sophisticated hospital information system in our region.”
Maria Parham will begin using the new Electronic Medical Records system on Monday, January 11th.