It’s important for clinicians to know their patients, especially in emergency situations, and now patients at CHI Memorial hospitals can have their health records shared with 28% of America’s other hospitals, including Erlanger Health System.
This November, Memorial switched its electronic health record system to Epic – the most popular electronic health record software for acute care hospitals in the United States. The move cost Memorial more than $67 million and took 18 months of “intense” preparation and about 60,000 hours of training across the health system, according to the hospital’s Chief Operating Officer Anthony Houston. About 250 people from outside Chattanooga, including experts, consultants and trainers, had a hand in the transition.
“Like many things in life, when you invest some good, upfront work and learning and studying and practicing, there’s a real payoff in the end,” Houston said. “It’s an amazing record that allows us to do many things we couldn’t do before.”
Memorial “went live” with Epic for inpatient services at its three hospitals on Nov. 4. All Memorial clinics and physicians’ offices – which use a combination of fragmented electronic and paper record systems – will transition, too. Memorial officials said an Epic “go live” date for outpatient services hasn’t been set yet.
The decision to switch to Epic was partly corporate. About 40% of CHI hospitals are already on Epic, Houston said. The software is considered the “gold standard” for acute care hospitals and promises to improve care and efficiency. However, the move was also for the community, he said.