Healthcare IT News - June 2008 - (Page 13)

www.HealthcareITNews.com June 2008 ■ Healthcare IT News 13 NEWSBRIEFS SIx MaRylaNd hoSpItalS to EMploy eICU Six hospitals serving patients in rural Maryland announced plans to improve the quality of patient care by implementing the VISICU eICU Program in each of their intensive care units. Made possible by a $3 million grant from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the eICU Program connects medicine and technology to bring critical care physicians to areas facing a shortage. The six hospitals united as Maryland eCare two years ago to find a solution to the critical care shortage. Medical records security at risk jury has since indicted medical centers than at other hos■ The News: Privacy the employee for allegpitals,” said William Phillips, vice breaches are tougher to edly selling celebrities’ president and CIO at University deal with at academic medical informaHealth System in San Antonio, centers. tion to the media. Texas. “Major centers like UCLA By RICHaRd PIzzI, Associate Editor ■ What It Means: More proLong regarded really push the he security of electronic tection – beyond IT – is envelope in EMR medical records has been as one of the preneeded. implementations national news in recent mier academic months, thanks largely to the widely medical centers in the United States, and CPOE. There are so publicized breaches of celebrity medUCLA has endured criticism for – in many people, including stuical records at UCLA Medical Center William Phillips the words of Kim Belshe, Secretary dents, with different levels in Los Angeles. of California’s Health and Human Services of security access. The elecApproximately 70 current and former Agency – a “pattern of repeated [security] tronic era really changes the Frank Clark security agenda, and unfortunately I suspect UCLA employees – including physicians – violations.” have been accused of illegally viewing celebrity CIOs at other academic medical centers we will see more breaches in the future.” Phillips said one of the biggest security medical records. The most notorious case was – who deal with the same privacy challengthat of an administrative specialist accused of es – can identify with the frustration that IT risks is the portability of the technology in an academic setting. Staff physicians, nurses looking at the records of 61 patients, including staff at UCLA may feel. celebrities and co-workers. A federal grand “Security is more difficult at academic seCuRITy see page 15 CIOs say privacy protection presents greater challenge at academic centers. t MIChIgaN hEalth SyStEM goES oNlINE FoR oRdER ENtRy The University of Michigan Health System has completed implementation of its online order entry system in the University Hospital and the Cardiovascular Center. Even before it was complete, the system – which had been rolled out in various parts of the institution – resulted in a 29-percent reduction in medication errors and a 40 percent cut in the time between the ordering and administration of urgent medications, according to health system officials. CareLink, as the order entry system is called, is “a major step toward a fully electronic medical record for all patients at UMHHC,” said Jocelyn DeWitt, the health system’s CIO. Johns Hopkins boosts second opinion service HealTHCaRe IT News Editors BAltiMore La. hospital begins data exchange By BeRNIe MoNegaIN, Editor shreVePort, lA – Delhi Hospital pREMIER gIvES thUMBS Up to EClIpSyS SoFtWaRE Premier Purchasing Partners LP, one of the nation’s largest healthcare group purchasing organizations, has signed an agreement with Eclipsys Corp., the developer of Sunrise Enterprise clinical and financial software. The agreement gives Eclipsys greater access to the more than 1,700 acute care hospital members of the Premier alliance as well as more than 49,000 other healthcare sites. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier reports an annual purchasing volume for $31 billion. - Johns Hopkins Medicine International will use telehealth technology to boost its global second opinion service, which makes it possible for physicians to review remote patient cases from the Baltimore hospital. Johns Hopkins will use technology from Houston-based Eceptionist’s Tele-health and Triage Manager to manage the service with affiliate hospitals around the world. Physicians offer a diagnosis, review the current treatment plan and evaluate the need for further consultations. More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: oPINIoN 0608 l KaISER BooStS tRaININg at ItS Call CENtERS Kaiser Permanente boosted its coaching processes at its Northern California call centers in order to increase patient satisfaction. The appointment and advice call centers will add Merced Performance Suite’s integrated workflow to standardize, track, evaluate and improve employee coaching practices between supervisors and agents. Kaiser has been using Merced technology since 2006 to deliver performance data to the front line. More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: HoSPItaLS 0608 is close to completing technology ciently with this volume of data installations at four other rural and number of sites.” The Louisiana Legislature in Delhi, La., and Louisiana State hospitals in northern Louisiana. The initiative will ultimately appropriated $13 million for the University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport have completed link all 44 hospitals in the coali- project. “In effect, this protheir first exchange of patient tion to the LSU sciences gram will enable many information, part of a plan to center and enable the thousands of people in electronic exchange of connect 44 rural hospitals. these rural Louisiana patient medThe hospitals “this project communities to receive ical records and the health scirequires the the equivalent of a ‘virto provide ences center are tual house call’ from a participating in a aggregation of an data for realhighly trained specialist multi-year, state- enormous amount time diagno- Jamie Welch at LSU Health Sciences Center in sis and treatment. sponsored initiaof data across “ This project Shreveport,” said James Burgess, tive to provide electronic health many locations.” requires the aggre- CEO of Dairyland. “Without gation and poten- electronic records, these indirecords and tele– Jamie Welch tial exchange of an viduals would have to travel medicine services to rural Louisiana residents enormous amount of data across hundreds of miles for specialized whose communities were dis- many locations,” said Jamie medical care. In addition, with Welch, CIO for the rural hospital so many paper medical records tressed by Hurricane Katrina. Working with the Louisiana coalition. “We felt it was impera- lost during Hurricane Katrina, Rural Hospital Coalition, tive to have technology partners we now have a way to make sure Minnesota-based Dairyland who truly understand the unique this never happens again.” ■ Healthcare Solutions finished an challenges of rural hospitals and More at HealthcareITNews.com IT rollout at Delhi Hospital and can work effectively and effi- lConnect: LouISIaNa 0608 e Medical records ‘to go’ HealTHCaRe IT News Editors l – Patients at St. Vincent Heart Center of Indiana will be able to carry their medical records with them in case of emergencies. The hospital is offering patients a small compact disc that contains their updated cardiovascular medical information and history. St. Vincent Heart Center of Indiana, or SVHCI, and the inDiAnAPolis Indiana-based Care Group cardiovascular specialty practice have partnered with GEMMS, a provider of medical record systems for cardiology practices, to offer the new technology. Indianapolis-based GEMMS built MyRECORD, a credit cardsized CD that contains a patient’s up-to-date medical history. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: INDIaNa 0608 Most significant barriers to implementing It -2008 Lack of financial support Lack of staffing resources Vendors inability to effectively deliver product Lack of time, clinicians 10% 20% 16% 15% It barriers l Base: 307 responses, representing 207 unique healthcare organizations and more than 700 hospitals. e l Connect: GraPHS 0608 19TH ANNUAL 2008 HIMSS LEADErSHIP SUrVEy, SPONSOrED By CISCO www.HealthcareITNews.com HealthcareITNews.com HealthcareITNews.com HealthcareITNews.com HealthcareITNews.com

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Healthcare IT News - June 2008

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