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Franklin General Hospital Implements New Technology Transforming the Way Health Care is Delivered
On July 26, Franklin General Hospital implemented new technology that has transformed the way health care is delivered. An electronic health record, or EHR10 as the new system at FGH has been named, is making the care delivered to hospital inpatients more efficient and safe by connecting multiple computer systems throughout FGH and the Mercy—North Iowa Health Network with new technology and best-practice processes.
Now, patients at FGH will have their medical information stored in one electronic system, so everything from allergies, vital statistics, illness history, treatment records and nurse’s notes is kept in one place and is readily accessible to doctors and nurses.
“Implementation of a system as large as this does not happen by luck and chance. It takes dedication from providers, leaders and staff,” explains Mark Klosterman, FGH CEO/Administrator. “EHR10 will help FGH continue to improve patient care and safety well into the future.”
EHR10 offers FGH:
- A safer environment for patients as physician orders will not be subject to handwriting misinterpretation.
- Better quality of care because medication orders will be processed more quickly via the computer.
- A warning of adverse drug event (ADE) alerts when there is a possibility of drug-to-drug, drug-to-allergy or drug-to-test results contraindication. This gives the physician the immediate opportunity to change the order or override the alert while still at the computer with full knowledge of the patient’s latest results, allergies, and vitals, at his/her fingertips.
- Better quality of care thanks to the clinical decision support tools EHR10 brings. These knowledge-based tools link evidence to best practice guidelines. This allows the clinician to use all the relevant information including best practice guidelines, drug databases, and practice evidence-based medicine at the point of care.
- Savings in health care. Cost will be contained because fewer duplicate tests will be ordered. Since results will go directly to the electronic chart, there is little chance the result will be separated from the chart.
To ensure patients’ health information is secure, the systems of EHR10 support the federal government’s HIPAA privacy and security standards by using access controls, passwords and other tools to protect confidential patient information. Any staff member or employee who accesses a patient’s PHI (protected health information) will leave an electronic “footprint—” establishing a record of who has viewed the patient’s information. This will allow the hospital, or any other connected hospital, the opportunity to determine if PHI is being appropriately accessed.
“The best outcome of EHR10 will be improved quality of life for patients,” said Dr. Brian Hansen, D.O., FGH Physician Leader for EHR10. “When quality of care is increased because medications are delivered sooner and test results are accessible sooner, our patients can get better more quickly.”
“Tackling EHR10 has been a huge undertaking. It has taken a lot of teamwork, education, and support from one another. Since 2006, there has been a significant amount of time spent preparing for our July 2008 implementation,” said Chris Eckhoff, Director of Nursing Services and Readiness Leader for the EHR10 project. Besides getting their daily work completed, staff logged hundreds of hours of training.
While many of the functions of EHR10 will be “behind the scenes,” patients will notice bed-side registration; medication orders processed more quickly; and wait times reduced.
The project was named EHR10 to reflect the cumulative efforts of the Mercy Health Network hospitals that are participating in the implementation of an electronic health record. Currently only about 11 percent of hospitals nationally have implemented a fully integrated electronic health record.