Most of the Lancaster General Health annual public meeting on November 18 was presentations concerning the various aspects and benefits of the hospital’s $100 million dollar program to create electronic records for approximately 150,000 patients by the year 2015. That amounts initially to $740 per patient, albeit it includes heavy start-up costs so enrolling future patients will likely be at a significantly lower cost.
The following is excerpted from an article posted on the Lancaster General Health’s web site that will serve to more comprehensively and accurately cover the thrust of what was presented than would a report based solely upon the NewsLanc reporter’s notes.
The efforts by LGH derives some financial support from the National Recovery Act and is required if in future years LGH is in part to avoid a reduction in percentage of reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid programs. One can anticipate the day when all Americans will have life long medical records that can be access by themselves and authorized care givers via the Internet wherever the patient may be located, thus generating huge efficiencies and avoiding costly and too often fatal oversights and errors by patient and health care workers.
What’s in a name – EHR/EMR/PHR system
You may have heard a variety of terms bandied about when it comes to electronic health records. While the terms are beginning to blend, it is important to understand what each mean when they are discussed:
The EHR is an electronic record of patient health information generated by one or more encounters in any care delivery setting. The record can be created, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff across more than one health care organization. Included in the record are patient demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports. The EHR is designed to automate and streamline the clinician’s workflow. The EHR generates a complete record of a clinical patient encounter and other care-related activities directly or indirectly. Lancaster General Health’s e-Health system is an EHR.
The EMR is an electronic record of health-related information on an individual that can be created, gathered, managed and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff within one health care organization. Typically, an EMR refers to the record housed in a physician practice.
A personal health record is an electronic record of health-related information on a patient; it can be drawn from multiple sources while being managed, shared, and controlled by the individual.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is happening?
A: LG Health is spending $100 million over the next several years to put in place a fully integrated electronic health record throughout the organization. The goal is to provide the best possible care to the patient, ensuring the vision of an extraordinary experience. LG Health has committed 150 people devoted to the effort full time, hundreds more part time and has contracted with the best IT system available to make this vision a reality.
Q: What is an electronic health record?
A: An electronic health record/EHR (also sometimes called an electronic medical record/EMR) is an official computerized health record for each patient. Included in this information are patient’s progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports. The EHR system at LG Health is called e-Health and the core of this system is provided by Epic, the top rated vendor of EHR systems. Epic has been selected for use at more than 50 academic medical centers across the country.
Q: What is e-Health?
A: e-Health is the term that LG Health is using to describe the official computerized health record for each patient. Included in this information are patient’s progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports.
Q: Why is Lancaster General Health investing in e-Health?
A: Lancaster General Health believes that one automated health record ensures the absolute best patient care is given to its patients. The Federal Government issued a mandate in its Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) that all hospitals have electronic health records by 2015. LG Health is spending $100 million on the effort, which began in January 2010.
Q: What can physicians, nurses and other providers expect from the new e-Health system?
A: All providers can expect better patient outcomes due to fewer medication and transcription errors. Accessing records of other providers to track patient’s health needs is also a benefit. Immediate access to test results will also save time in determining patient’s needs. All providers are provided ample training so they will understand how to use the system prior to it “going live.”
Q: What can patients expect from the new e-Health system?
A: By making it easier for clinicians to access patient records, share information, track trends in a patient’s health history and receive alerts on best practices and reminders for health services such as flu shots, e-Health will help our clinicians provide better care to patients. Patients also will have access to some parts of their medical records through a secure online application known as MyLGHealth, enabling them and their families to become informed and active participants in their healthcare. Specifically, the patient benefits of a LG Health’s e-Health system include:
- Reduces errors:
- Eliminates errors caused by illegible handwriting. The new system will check to make sure the drugs patients take with other drugs are not harmful.
- Improves security:
- Keeps the record safe. Many safeguards are in place to ensure that only the appropriate people look at the patient’s medical record.
- Improves care: Tells the doctor when it’s time for the patient to get tests and shots, such as a yearly flu shot or when to follow up on lab tests, especially if the patient has had a problem.
- Helps LG Health understand patient care needs: Patients’ records are accessible to all providers, so a surgeon, for instance, will know if the patient has just given a list of allergies to the primary care doctor.
From a customer service perspective, the patient’s preferences in many items are noted, so the most appropriate food choices will be provided, for example.
Q: What happens to the existing paper and electronic records – how will they be incorporated in the new system?
A: When e-Health goes live in 2011, millions of pieces of patient and medical histories will be converted and loaded into the new system.
Q: Isn’t it faster to just update medical records by hand instead of logging into a computer system?
A: While it might be faster to update medical records by hand, retrieving information from paper records is much slower. Two clinicians working in different disciplines or different physical locations, for instance, cannot easily see the same patient record if paper records are used. If a patient has been seen in multiple areas of the LGH system, assembling a complete medical record with all the necessary clinical information from several different sets of paper records may take multiple phone calls and time that could be spent caring for patients. Centralizing and creating a single patient record for each patient has several benefits that will help LGH clinicians provide the best care. They include making it easier to identify trends and patterns in a patient’s medical history; speeding communication and information sharing by members of a patient’s healthcare team; and providing clinicians with information on best practices and reminders for health promotion services such as flu shots.
Q: Will there be an opportunity for me to see how e-Health works before we start using it to help treat patients?
A: Yes. You will receive extensive training on how to use the new system. Check back soon for more details on training.
Q. Why are LGH staff members being hired onto the e-Health project?
A: Moving from a paper-based to an electronic medical record system is a very large and complex task requiring expertise from clinical staff across the organization. LGH staff members were hired into the implementation project to ensure that they could focus on the project and act as dedicated teams and champions inside the organization to get the implementation completed. Team members must also complete comprehensive training on Epic’s systems and on how to apply those systems to support how we want to treat patients at LGH. In addition to staff hired into the project, all clinical employees and faculty from across the organization will be trained in the system before we go-live.
Q: I’m not comfortable using a computer. Will I be able to use the new EHR?
A: Yes. All clinical staff will receive extensive, individualized training before e-Health goes live. As we make the transition to e-Health, LGH “Super Users” – experts on the new system – will be on hand in every clinical area throughout the process to help staff with questions and issues.
Q: When are we switching to e-Health?
A: Most LGMG physician practices will have transitioned to e-Health by the close of 2010. Nursing, allied and support staff will begin documenting/using the system in 2011. In 2012, physicians will begin documenting in e-Health.
Q: Once we begin using e-Health, what kind of support will we have if we have problems using the system?
A: LGH “Super Users” – staff experienced with the system – will be available to help staff members with questions. Staff members from Epic will also make frequent visits in the months after the system goes live to help address and questions or concerns. We will constantly review the system for improvements and ways to make it easier to use to help staff provide the best care for our patients.
Q: How will this change what I do?
A: The goal of e-Health is to make it easier for you to provide advanced care to our patients. The new system will require some changes, including new terminology and new methods of documenting the care you provide.
