Healthcare IT News - September 2008 - (Page 15) www.HealthcareITNews.com hoSpItalS & IdNs September 2008 ■ Healthcare IT News 15 Iowa community hospitals join integrated rural network By rICHarD PIzzI, Associate Editor MASON CITY, IA - Three small hospitals in northern Iowa have installed an integrated electronic health record system, the first of its kind in a U.S. rural healthcare setting, according to health system officials. Kossuth Regional Health Center in Algona, Franklin General Hospital in Hampton and Mitchell County Regional Health Center in Osage recently completed implementation of a regional network called EHR10. The rural hospitals are members of a preferred referral network through Mercy Medical Center–North Iowa, in Mason City, a member of the Novi, Mich.-based Trinity Health system. Mercy Medical Center implemented its fully operational digital health record in 2005 as part of Trinity Health’s system-wide initia- tive known as Genesis. implement computerthE NEWS: Iowa “This is the first ➔ ized physician order hospitals form regional effort to prove that an entry and other clinihealth network. integrated system can cal/revenue systems. What It mEaNS: be extended to rural ➔ The other four hosCould serve as areas,” said Joseph pitals will install the model for other rural Swedish, president technology this month. hospitals. Swedish said and CEO of Trinity Genesis is an integral Health. The three hospitals are the first element of Trinity Health’s process of seven Mercy Health Network- improvement initiative to impleNorth Iowa rural facilities to ment an integrated registration and electronic health record system across its network of community hospitals in seven states. He noted that - while larger hospitals are more likely to have electronic health records - less than 3 percent of the nation’s small or rural hospitals (50 beds or less) have a fully implemented EHR system. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: Iowa 0908 l Mass Continued from page 14 to enhance the quality and costeffectiveness of healthcare in the Commonwealth,” Patrick said when he signed the bill on Aug. 10. Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi commended Patrick for supporting S.B. 2863, “An Act to Promote Cost Containment, Transparency and Efficiency in the Delivery of Quality Health Care.” “In order for healthcare reform to be successful, it is imperative that we increase access and quality, while decreasing the cost of care,” Murray said, “This legislation through incentives for medical and nursing students, the adoption of uniform billing Therese Murray and electronic health records and increasing transparency for consumers achieves those goals.” “The ongoing success of our historic healthcare reform depends on our ability to continue to cut costs in the healthcare system while we increase quality and the number of insured,” said DiMasi. “From increased transparency in rate-setting to expanded use of electronic records and a tough new code of conduct for gift-giving, this law charts a bold course to cut costs.” The law includes: ■ The development of quality improvement and cost containment goals and performance benchmarks. ■ The implementation of measures to increase the availability and accessibility of primary care and to improve the quality of chronic care. ■ The dissemination of healthcare quality and cost data to consumers, providers and insurers. ■A requirement for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing companies to report to the state Department of Public Health any payment or gift of more than $50 made to a healthcare professional. Those gifts would be publicly reported on the state’s Web site. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: MaSS 0908 5 Rights. Zero bottlenecks. Bringing patient care back to the bedside with Hospira MedNet Integrated Clinical Care. More and more hospitals are recognizing the need to streamline the flow of patient data between a multitude of devices and information systems. Hospira MedNet Integrated Clinical Care supports real-time send-and-receive capabilities that enable infusion devices to connect with vital hospital information systems to promote the five rights of medication administration. The result for these organizations is improved medication safety, enhanced clinical productivity and more time spent on patient care. For more information on Advancing Wellness™, contact your Hospira representative at 1-877-9Hospira (946-7744) l Hospira, Inc., 275 North Field Drive, Lake Forest, IL 60045 P08-1456 e l Connect: HoSPIra 0908 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9888 http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9884 http://www.healthcareitnews.com/eConnect.cms?id=9938
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.