Today’s EHR and HIT news includes vendor selection news from SRS and RelayHealth. IT Solutions provider CTG is also announcing a a new contract for an Epic implementation.
Side-by-Side Comparrison of SRS to Legacy EHR Reveals Stark Differences for 17 Provider Michigan Orthopaedic Institute
SRS has announced that Michigan Orthopaedic Institute (MOI) has selected the SRS EHR to replace its legacy EHR. The group’s 17 providers care for patients at two locations in Southfield and West Bloomfield, Michigan.
“We conducted a side-by-side comparison to compare the efficiency with which our clinicians are able to accomplish basic workflow tasks using the SRS EHR versus our former HER — the difference, in terms of number of clicks and speed, was night and day,” says David J. Collon, M.D., CEO of MOI. “We want to be positioned for the future and be able to meet all government and payerrequirements – but we can’t be slowed down.”
“Our local hospital offered to subsidize our purchase of its EHR, but we declined in favor of SRS,” says Jeff Fischgrund, M.D., MOI. “The EHR used at the hospital was not specialty focused like the SRS EHR, and would have severely impacted our patient load and workflow. No subsidy would have offset the long-term costs associated with implementing the wrong EHR.”
“As physicians face the implications of healthcare reform and the aging baby-boomer population, having ergonomic software that allows them to care for patients in an efficient manner has become more critical than ever,” says Evan Steele, CEO of SRS. “As the EHR Incentive Program progresses, the number of practices de-installing their EHRs and choosing to implement the SRS EHR is growing dramatically. Specialty groups, in particular, are rejecting EHR grants from their hospitals because they recognize that these EHRs will never meet their specific workflow and productivity needs.”
Baton Rouge General Medical Center Chooses RelayHealth for Enterprise Health Information Exchange
Baton Rouge General Medical Center, named one of the nation’s “Most Wired” hospitals in 2011, has chosen RelayHealth for enterprise health information exchange (HIE). The implementation supports Baton Rouge General in further advancing its health information technology systems to deliver quality patient care and promote excellent health outcomes in the communities the organization serves.
Baton Rouge General’s first steps will be to implement electronic medical records system enhancements that will improve system integration and ease of use for physicians, including enhanced documentation and communications, orders for easy electronic request of diagnostic tests and patient referrals. In addition, the system will provide electronic results distribution to help enhance the providers’ ability to review diagnostic results and convey the results to patients, as well as to help ease the burden associated with the distribution, reporting and filing of paper results.
“Baton Rouge General is collaborating among key clinical stakeholders and IT to thoughtfully examine how workflows can drive technology, rather than the converse,” said Edgardo Tenreiro, Baton Rouge General’s Chief Operating Officer. “RelayHealth’s enterprise HIE offers physicians and staff well-integrated workflows to help facilitate the secure exchange of health information.”
“Hospitals and health systems are increasingly turning to enterprise HIE to solve business challenges,” said Jeff Felton, president, RelayHealth. “RelayHealth is proud to provide one of the industry’s top enterprise HIE solutions and to help our customers attain their health information exchange goals, whether clinical or business in nature.”
CTG Announces Extension and Expansion of Major Epic Electronic Medical Record Implementation
“While anticipated, we are pleased to see the next phase of this major project move from our pipeline to advance further in the implementation process,” said James R. Boldt, CTG chairman and chief executive officer. “This contract also underscores the success of CTG Health Solutions, our healthcare IT division, in managing large-scale implementations for major IDNs, in addition to academic medical centers, ambulatory facilities, and large physician practices. The expansion of our role in this major project is indicative of the increasing scope and size of EMR implementations and related work that we are providing our clients as a full service healthcare IT consulting firm.”
Ted Reynolds, vice president, CTG Health Solutions, added, “To date, this project is one of our largest Epic EMR implementations. It involves seven go-lives and covers five hospitals totaling almost 2,000 beds and nearly 140 clinics. As one of the largest U.S. healthcare IT consulting firms, CTG Health Solutions has a proven track record of successfully managing a high volume of projects for multiple clients, as well as mobilizing significant consulting resources with Epic experience and expertise.”
