Healthcare IT News - October 2007 - (Page 30)

30 Healthcare IT News ■ October 2007 phySIcIaN pRactIcES & aMBulatoRy caRE www.HealthcareITNews.com Gulf Coast clinics move to digitize records post-Katrina By RICHaRd PIzzI, Associate Editor – In the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, an urgent care provider on the Mississippi Gulf Coast has decided to implement an electronic medical records system in its two clinics. South Mississippi Urgent Care is working with Austin, Texas-based vendor PracticeIT, which specializes in EMRs and handheld diagnostic devices, to D’IBERVILLE, MS complete its move to electronic records. SMUC has two locations and plans to open two more this year. The next clinic will open in Biloxi, Miss., this month. SMUC claims to be the first medical facility to adopt an EMR system in the region after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005. “If we have a catastrophic event, such as Hurricane Katrina, our patients’ records are protect- ed,” said Ronnie Ali, DO, head physician at SMUC. “I think it’s important for the people of this region to have the assurance that their medical records are safe no matter what happens,” he added. A f t e r Hu r r i c a n e K at r i n a destroyed more than 100 healthcare centers and almost one million patient medical records, Ali said he saw the need for medical care in the community and felt that it was his duty to help his fellow neighbors on the Gulf Coast. Ali said he implemented an EMR to give him immediate access to critical patient information – such as drug allergies, current medications, and medical history – in order to treat patients faster and more safely in the event of a disaster. The EMR system also keeps billing and doc umentation records for SMUC. PracticeIT representatives say the system links the clinics together, making it easier for patients to seek care at different locations. “Our goal was to create a customized solution for the clinics while lessening the hassle and wait time for patients seeking immediate care,” said Bob Teague, CEO of PracticeIT. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e ●Connect: GuLf 1007 CaTHOLIC Continued from page 27 e ● Connect: tSYSteMS 1007 and to the 5,000 independently practicing physicians on its hospital medical staffs, on a voluntary basis. Officials at the health system say they anticipate going live with the physician practice initiative over the next 24 to 30 months. “We have undertaken this EHR initiative as a means to enhance care delivery and improve access to care and health information while protecting the information’s security and privacy,” said Richard T. Lopes, MD, chief clinical transformation officer at SCLHS. “We are collaborating with physicians to ensure that this system will provide precisely the information they need to facilitate improvements in clinical outcomes across the care delivery continuum.” SCLHS is a Catholic notfor-profit health system, composed of nine hospitals and four stand-alone clinics in California, Colorado, Kansas and Montana. The system is sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth and has nearly 11,000 employees, 2,200 staffed beds and a variety of specialties. Under the new system, SCLHS leaders hope affiliated physicians will get improved communication and access to patient information while patients are in the hospital, and when patients are visiting private physician practices. SCLHS officials said the health system and its affiliated hospitals are investigating a business model that is compliant with legal and regulatory statues to support independent members of the medical staffs. eClinicalWorks claims the patient portal component of the software will enable providers to communicate securely with their patients via the Internet. “The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System is leading a new trend in hospitals by helping its community physicians implement systems that increase the quality of patient care, in addition to making both the practice and the affiliated hospital work more efficiently,” said Girish Kumar Navani, president of eClinicalWorks. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e ●Connect: CatHoLIC 1007 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=7850 http://www.tsystem.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/eConnect.cms?id=7908 http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=7848 http://www.tsystem.com

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Healthcare IT News - October 2007 Contents Global Harmony Telegrowth New Rules Keeping Tabs What's Free? PHR of Its Own Intelligent Closing Practice Management Paper Tiger

Healthcare IT News - October 2007

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