While physician practices across the country struggle with the challenge of implementing an electronic health records system, Atlanta Women’s Specialists (AWS), a OB/Gyn practice, was one of the early adopters of EHR. The practice has learned some valuable lessons about implementation success strategies, working collaboratively with vendors and hospital IT staff to design a “win-win”
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Is open source hospital software really free when provided by a for-profit systems vendor? We wanted to find out. Inside Healthcare Computing invoked the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act to obtain the March 2006 contract between the State of West Virginia, Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health
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One of the most challenging parts of implementing an EMR system is getting physician buy-in and adoption. The Alabama Medicaid Agency (ALMA), through its Together for Quality (TFQ) initiative, has learned some valuable lessons about how to help physicians successfully integrate technology into their daily workflow and realize its benefits. “One of our goals since
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LifeBridge Health has begun an electronic exchange of health information between its two hospitals, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore and Northwest Hospital, and Saint Agnes Hospital, a community hospital. The hospitals have an overlapping service area but use different EMR systems. “We wanted to pilot a health information exchange to learn about the technology, how much
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In these days of economic uncertainty, why spend millions on an expensive, complicated system if there’s a lower-cost alternative that does exactly what you need? Lutheran Medical Center, a not-for-profit community hospital in Brooklyn, NY, with a high percentage of Medicaid and uninsured patients, had that thought years ago, even before Carlsbad,CA-based Medsphere’s OpenVista clinical
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Banner Estrella Medical Center, part of the Banner Health system, opened the first all-digital hospital in its network in January 2005. Since then, it has become a model for implementing an electronic medical record system and using it effectively to improve care and cut costs. “We’re known as a learning lab,” says Sandi Davis, RN,
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Spurred by the passage of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan last month, one hospital is ramping up its efforts to prepare for an expected groundswell of interest in EMR implementation from its affiliated physicians. “We anticipate that when the incentive programs become available in the next year or two, they will be of great
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With some notable exceptions, small and rural hospitals have not been able to move as quickly as their larger, urban counterparts in implementing EHR systems. One of those exceptions is Nemaha County Hospital, a 20-bed Critical Access Hospital located in Auburn, NE. Nemaha began its EHR journey in September 2003. In 2002, two weeks into
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Telus Corp.’s recent announcement of a $100 million, three-year investment in its healthcare sector and its launch of Telus Health Solutions may indicate that the Vancouver, Canada-based telecommunications company has its eye on opportunities south of the border, an industry analyst tells Inside Healthcare Computing. “Telus is definitely making a pre-emptive strike,” telecom analyst Carmi
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Bill Phillips, CIO of University Health System (San Antonio, TX) believes that the automation investments his hospital has made over the past three years have directly improved patient care and safety. “The whole transformation process has improved the continuum of care across our whole community,” says Phillips. “By taking advantage of the electronic environment in
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