Connected Care continued
Physicians can review patient records electronically from anywhere within
the Scott & White Healthcare system.
hospital partners: in Waco at Hillcrest
Baptist Medical Center, and in Killeen at
Metroplex Health System. The new
technology will also allow Scott & White to
connect with its physician practices in Llano
and the surrounding Hill Country.
EMR has been extremely effective
during its history and has in fact informed
many data-driven research projects on
health outcomes within the Scott & White
system of care.
Keyboard to bedside
Innovative, critical thinking about how
best to care for patients now continues
with a next-generation upgrade to the
EMR system at Scott & White. As the
federal government mandates standardized
EMR systems by all providers to increase
the efficiency and quality of the nation’s
healthcare, Scott & White is again ahead of
32
THE CATALYST Spring 11 | www.sw.org
the curve, transitioning to a new EMR
system called NextGen. Its implementation,
planned for 2011–2012, will expand the
current EMR capabilities to help Scott &
White provide even better medical care and
make it easier for patients to be proactive in
their health management.
The NextGen system is certified by the
Office of the National Coordinator for
Health Information Technology, within
the United States Department of Health
and Human Services. This certification is
an important criterion to the government
as it disperses funding under the new
healthcare reform law. NextGen also
features enhanced security measures for
patient data. Doctors will benefit in many
ways, too: a physician will be able to send
a patient a history form for completion
prior to an office visit. But this information
will no longer be a piece of paper in a file—
it will interface with the NextGen system
and be entered as part of the patient’s
comprehensive record. “This new
functionality will be a huge step forward
for both patients and providers,” says
Marilyn Hoeth, Scott & White’s
Information Technology director of
electronic medical records.
NextGen will be up and running in all
primary care clinics and specialty clinics
throughout Scott & White Healthcare.
Physicians are able to receive ancillary test
results, including lab and radiology reports
electronically. They can then immediately
enter follow-up instructions for the next
step in their patient's care, or document
the action they took to inform their patient
of the test results. Delegated actions will go
directly to a nurse or clerk so that
appropriate follow-up can be arranged.
“The opportunity to lose a test result is
slim because it’s all coming electronically
for the physician’s review and electronic
signature. Prior to NextGen, most test
results were printed to paper and manually
routed to the provider for review and
signature sometimes resulting in delays
or lost results. We’re even able to
electronically audit that a test result has
been signed by a physician and that an
action has been taken to communicate
with the patient,” says Ms. Hoeth.
“NextGen will refine the way that we
deliver care. It allows us more thorough
documentation, safer care, and more
ways to evaluate ourselves by extracting
data from the system. All of this results
in a higher level of quality care,”
says pulmonologist Jeana O’Brien, MD,