OMHS to implement advanced electronic medical record system

OWENSBORO, KY (September 9, 2010) — Owensboro Medical Health System has partnered with Epic Systems to adopt an advanced electronic medical record (EMR) for inpatient and outpatient use. The new system will allow OMHS to implement an integrated EMR that supports patient care and complements the hospital’s process improvement, quality and safety initiatives.  

EMRs enable healthcare providers to exchange protected health information through a secure connection. They speed the delivery of care with a goal of improving clinical outcomes by reducing duplication of services and risk for error. The Epic EMR will help improve care for patients during hospital stays. It will streamline the gathering of medical history, medication and insurance information for sharing across the hospital and with other healthcare providers.

Over the next 18 to 21 months OMHS will dedicate 70 employees toward the project, replacing core clinical systems and processes with Epic’s model system implementation methodology—based on best practices of more than 190 Epic customers. “Our goal is to have the EMR well in place before relocating to the new hospital in 2013,” says Rex Vaughn, executive director of Information Systems.

Nearly one-third of US physicians use or will soon implement Epic, accounting for over 80 million patient charts. OMHS will have access to all of Epic’s software applications for use in patient care settings and insurance filing. Epic software is fully integrated across the continuum of care, which means a single patient record is used wherever service is provided. The Epic system will allow patients to become more involved in their own care by having immediate, direct access to many aspects of their medical records through Epic’s MyChart online component.

“Epic will allow us to build on the system improvement techniques that our LEAN process improvement teams already have in use throughout the organization,” says Dr. Neville Sarkari, who is leading the inpatient project. “The new system will affect every part of the hospital and therefore the installation will give us opportunities to look at and improve patient care and our processes in every area.”

“Epic will enable us to continue improving the quality of care we provide and accomplish it in a more efficient manner,” says Dr. David Danhauer, leader for the clinic component. “I am excited to help lead this complex but critical evolution of our healthcare delivery system.”

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Rex Vaughn Information Systems	Neville Sarkari, MD Inpatient Project Leader	David Danhauer, MD Clinic Component Leader

Owensboro Medical Health System serves an eleven-county region in western Kentucky and southern Indiana. The hospital has received awards for clinical excellence and patient safety from HealthGrades, placing it among the top five percent of hospitals in the nation for quality (OMHS is one of only 74 hospitals to receive both honors). Cooperative Health Services, an affiliate of OMHS, also operates the HealthPark—a medical-based fitness center—and a number of clinics and diagnostic centers in Beaver Dam and Madisonville (KY) and Tell City (IN) as well as The Clinic at Wal-Mart  in Owensboro, Henderson (KY) and Newburgh (IN).