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Why the Electronic Health Admitting Before EHR, the patient registration and admitting staff at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, Wis., used a printed schedule or made multiple phone calls to find out why a patient was there and where they needed to go. With the EHR, that information is already in the system, saving three to four minutes per patient, according to Marian Bemis, patient registration application specialist. EHR allows all SSM hospitals in Wisconsin as well as many clinics to instantly share information. “Patients appreciate that they aren’t asked the same questions each time they come to the hospital,” Bemis said. Marian Bemis, (standing) patient registration application specialist, with emergency services nurse Kelly Murray. Bemis says that patients are admitted three to four minutes faster with the EHR. Physicians Pharmacists According to pharmacist Dave Billing, director of pharmacy, SSM DePaul Health Center, Bridgeton, Mo., the EHR helps pharmacists in the following ways: • Drug orders and physician progress notes are always legible. • Computer access to medical charts has cut down on the walking time of pharmacists hunting for a paper medical record. • Access to records at multiple computers also means more than one person at a time can see the information. • The patient’s medical history, allergies and other prescription medi cations are all listed. • The pharmacist can spend more time talking with physicians about the patient’s care and less time searching for information. 12 For physicians, access is the EHR’s biggest benefit: access by them to patient records and access for patients so they are partners in their own care. Physicians can view patient records 24-7 from any secure computer. And patient records can be viewed and shared simultaneously by clinicians. The MyChart online feature also allows physicians and patients to exchange e-mails about care at their mutual convenience, said Dr. Jay Moore whose practice in Wentzville, Mo., was the first SSM physician office in the St. Louis area to adopt EHR. Another feature of the EHR Quick access for patients and physicians and the ability to directly communicate with patients via e-mail are the biggest benefits of EHR, according to Dr. Jay Moore. is E-prescribe, which allows doctors to electronically send prescriptions to the computer systems of pharmicies. And if Moore’s patients are happy, he’s happy. “The thing that I’m most excited about was the speed and the ease with which most of our physicians took to the system,” Dr. Moore said. “I think that speaks to the fact that it’s a good system and everybody sees the benefits within a few weeks.” The EHR means legible information and no more long walks to find a patient’s medical records for pharmacists, according to Dave Billing, director of pharmacy, SSM DePaul Health Center.
Record Is Better for… Nurses Mary Young, a nurse in the intensive care unit at SSM DePaul Health Center, Bridgeton, Mo. says the EHR has many benefits for caregivers and patients, including making orders easier to read, medication errors less likely and patient records more quickly accessible. “The best part is being able to find old records. As long as the doctor is within SSM, we can see the last visit from a week ago or three years ago. Before, when patients came in after multiple appointments, it was hard to keep track of what had been done. If we have the record, then we won’t repeat things because we’ll already know.” EHR: How Far We’ve Come in Two Years On March 30, 2008, SSM St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake Saint Louis, Mo., became the first SSM entity to launch the EHR. Two years later, seven more SSM hospitals, out of a total of 15, have added their names to that list plus more than 200 physicians in 48 offices across St. Louis. SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center is scheduled to implement the EHR this April. When the EHR project is finished in 2011, more than $300 million will have been invested, and the EHR will be available on more than 13,000 computers at SSM facilities in Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri and Oklahoma. SSM is among the top U.S. hospital systems for EHR adoption. Discharge According to nurse Mary Young, being able to quickly learn about a patient’s medical history is one of the best things about the EHR. Patients Annice Barnes, corporate communications specialist, can exchange e-mails with her physician via the MyChart function of the EHR. According to Cindi Nolan, a nurse at SSM DePaul Health Center’s critical care unit, the EHR has greatly improved the patient discharge process. “A discharge that used to take one to two hours can now be done in 20 minutes,” she said. Quick and easy checklists to ensure patients have everything they need are generated by the EHR before they go home — from proper medication to personal belongings to education and instructions. “I can give patients something concrete that they can take home and reference any time that they need it,” Nolan said. Annice Barnes, corporate communications specialist, who has diabetes, loves the MyChart feature of the EHR. MyChart, an online health management tool, helps create a direct link between patients and physicians via e-mail. According to Barnes, managing her diabetes requires many adjustments to medications and frequent testing. She and her endocrinologist, Dr. Jerry Thurman, exchange e-mails to make these adjustments. MyChart also features the following: • medical history and health screenings • a list of doctor’s appointments — past and future • a record of all e-mails exchanged • access to an online medical reference service Contact your doctor to enroll in MyChart. Nurse Cindi Nolan says the EHR has made the patient discharge process faster and more effective for patients and caregivers. 13
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Page 5 and 6: The Twins Even before birth, the Lo
Page 7 and 8: The Young Leader Maurine Free is he
Page 9 and 10: The Fixers Throughout SSM Health Ca
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Page 23 and 24: THE S.P.A.T.U.L.A. MEETS NEVER LIFT

Our People - SSM Health Care

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