New EQ News Template - Catholic Health System

EQUINOX NewsMay/June 2009Medication Administration checKMAK Technology Designed to Increase Patient SafetyThe quality and safety of the care weprovide our patients continues to be a keyfocus for Equinox. MAK, an important new toolin helping us improve quality and enhancesafety, is well underway in its development.On a national level, the administration ofprescription drugs is error-prone even thoughup to 88% of medication errors are preventable.Medication administration-relatederrors that result in patient harmare the leading cause of in-patientdeaths, an estimated 7,000 annually.Hospital patients, on average, aresubject to one administrationerror a day, according tothe Institute of Medicine.The Journal of theAmerican Medical Associationreports medicationadministration-related errors occurat all stages of the medicationprocess: ordering (56%), administering (34%),transcribing (6%), and dispensing (4%). Nationally,medication administration-related errorscost hospitals an estimated $3.5 billion dollarsannually.Using barcode technology from SiemensTransforming:PROCESSCULTURETECHNOLOGYThe Equinox News2170 Union Road · West Seneca(716) 862-2314 · EQInfo@CHSBuffalo.orgMedical Solutions,Catholic Health isembarking on a majortransformation of themedication administrationprocess. This willensure that the“five patient rights of medication administration”are followed. Barcodes on the medication,the patient’s wristband and the clinician’s I.D.badge will be scanned and information reconciledin the computer. If any of the informationdoes not reconcile, the computer will alert theclinician with a warning that something iswrong.Developing a system like MAK affects somany other processes - from medicationpackaging to name badges andpatient wristbands. Much of thework to redesign the direct andindirect processes needed tomake MAK work have beencompleted and fact-findingvisits to hospitals already usingMAK have been planned. Theschedule for Catholic Health hospitals to goliveon the new system is still in development.The Five Rights ofMedication Administration1. Right Drug2. Right Route3. Right Patient4. Right Dose5. Right Time

2Catholic Health Lab Information SystemUndergoes Major UpgradeCatholic Health’s Laboratory Services underwenta major technology upgrade for the first time innearly a decade. Last month, the Lab InformationServices (LIS) department completed a majorupgrade to the SoftLab system in a 24-hour windowthat minimized the impact of the system beingoffline for our clinical areas.The SoftLab system supports more than fourmillion tests each year, and is a major componentof the clinical technology on which our physiciansand other clinicians rely. “This was an importantstep for our lab as we look to improve both qualityand efficiency for the medical professionals whorely on us day-in-and-day-out,” said Connie Bauer,Vice President, Laboratory Services.More than 50 Catholic Health Associatesworked long hours to make the SoftLab upgrade assmooth a transition as possible. About 20 laboratory“superusers” worked to validate 65 instrumentinterfaces and train about 400 laboratory endusers.The SoftLab system also has dozens ofinterfaces to other registration, clinical and billingsystems. The laboratory LIS and integration teamsworked diligently to ensure the accuracy of everyinterface.SoftLab not only communicates with otherCatholic Health computer systems like Soarian, butit must also interface with the Electronic MedicalRecords (EMRs) of more than 300 physiciansthroughout the region using three different softwarevendors. Beyond our own embedded connectivity withthese physicians, Catholic Health’s Lab feeds informationto HEALTHeLINK, the Western New YorkClinical Information Exchange.In addition to the software upgrade, the projectalso involved new CPUs and a conversion to anOracle database. Dozens of workstations (computers)had to be deployed to accommodate the enhancedSoftLab system. The IT networking and engineeringteams were integral in the setup of the hardware,networking and printing. “We deployed approximately115 new workstations across multiple locations sothat our lab associates would be able to take fulladvantage of this new and much more powerfulsystem,” said Pete Capelli, Vice President, IT Network& Infrastructure.The result of all this hard work is an LIS tool that ismuch faster and far more user friendly. There aresignificant enhancements in the system that willallow for better accounts receivable processing,producing a positive financial impact for the lab.Improved functionality includes the ability for SynopticReporting, a feature necessary for communitycancer center designation.

Soarian ClinicalsUpdateWell-Established Clinical ToolContinues to ExpandResults, orders, and documentation --- just threeshort years ago, nurses throughout Catholic Healthhad practically as many ways of doing/accessingthese things as there were nursing stations. Today,clinical information is reported, documented, andordered virtually the same way at each acute care site.Soarian has unlocked a whole new potential forimproved quality and patient safety through both thetechnology itself, and the standardized processesthat were developed for its use. Soarian ClinicalAccess was the first module to “go-live” and gave usa tool to access results on any patient anywhere inour acute care settings. It also gave physiciansaccess to information from anywhere - extendingcare beyond the hospital walls.Soarian Common Clinicals followed soon after,providing a common system for nurses to placeorders and a way to “hard wire” best practices andautomated alerts.Most recently, Soarian Clinical Team enabledelectronic nurse documentation and eliminatedlegibility issues, helped ensure complete documentationof care through built-in prompts and reminders.Recently, the use of Soarian for electronic documentationhas expanded to ancillary clinical areasincluding Food & Nutrition Services and the MedicalRehabilitation Units. Respiratory Therapy departmentsat all four acute care sites are currentlydesigning the way they will document in Soarian.Soarian Financials, which recently went live at theSt. Joseph Campus of Sisters Hospital, will also havean impact on clinical processes. Admissions and thepatient information associated with that process willbe captured in Soarian Financials. We expect thatimproved scheduling features will have a positiveimpact on the overall patient experience.3Soarian EDM OffersElectronic SignatureSoarian Enterprise Document Management (EDM)and Soarian Health Information Management (HIM)are Catholic Health’s new online solution that willreplace traditional paper documents, reports, andfolders, moving us ever closer to a more completeElectronic Medical Record. EDM allows CatholicHealth Physicians to electronically sign transcribedreports from anywhere they have secure access toSoarian.The ease of electronic signature is expected toimprove chart completion, ensuring that records areaccurate, up-to-date, and that claims may be submittedfor payment on a timely basis.Physicians who use EDM will log-into Soarian;click on an icon to determine if they have any transcribedreports to sign; and if they do, they will beable to read and sign them electronically right thereand then. The introduction of Soarian EDM hasprompted an increase in the use of Soarian, andHIM/EDM associates are working hard to providetraining and “refresher” information for physicianswho may have not used Soarian much. This excitingnew technology is a big plus for both our physiciansand our bottom line!

4Equinox - What It’s All AboutIn 2004, Catholic Health began a journey totransform healthcare by using cutting edgetechnology. Our efforts centered not only onstate-of-the-art diagnosticimaging equipment,but also on the developmentof one of the mostadvanced electronichealth records (EHR) inthe region.By moving millions ofbits and pieces ofclinical information outof paper charts and intothe computer, we canprovide the right information,to the rightprovider at the rightplace at the right time.Time and informationare the real currencywith which positivehealthcare outcomes arepurchased. Our EHR,built on technologycalled Soarian, providesCatholic Health physicians and other clinicianswith an abundance of that currency.Besides its ability to provide up-to-theminuteinformation on any of our patients atany of our hospitals, Soarian is “hard-wired”with patient safety alerts, reminders, and willinclude information on clinical best practicescompiled from research from across the nation.And because it’s not confined to a paper chart,our physicians can access patient informationfrom any location, over our secure network.There are many elements that make up thepatient’s health record and thus far we haveimplemented access to clinical results, nursingorders, electronic nursedocumentation, anddocumentation byancillary care departments.We are wellunderway with thedevelopment of manyothers, including anelectronic process tosafely monitor and trackthe administration ofmedication, computerizedphysician orders,and physician documentation.Our efforts to makeimportant, possibly lifesaving,clinical informationmore accessiblewhen and where it’sneeded extends beyondour own system. CatholicHealth is a foundingmember and key contributor to HEALTHeLINK,the Western New York Clinical InformationExchange. Working with the entire healthcarecommunity, Catholic Health has helped establisha secure network through which healthcareprofessionals can access information from awide range of sources including every majorhospital in the region, not just our own.Questions?Send an e-mail to:EQInfo@CHSBuffalo.org