Incorporating Meaningful Use in the Implementation of an EHR While Migrating from Meditech Magic to a 6.0 Platform

Purpose:
Hancock Regional Hospital seeks to implement a paperless EHR that promotes safety, improves the flow of information, and coordination of patient care. The goal is to transform our current partially EHR to a innovative system that is both easy to use and highly adaptable to future changes.

Significance:
The implementation or migration to a completely EHR is vital for patient safety. The EHR improves work flow and coordination of care. It eliminates barriers such as illegible handwriting. The EHR allows for integration of data from medical equipment to flow directly into the patient's record.

Strategy and Implementation:
HRH is migrating from a partially EHR to a totally EHR in May 2011. We are utilizing meaningful use dollars to help with the cost of this migration. Currently HRH is on a Meditech Magic platform. HRH will migrate to the 6.0 platform in May of 2011. Right now testing, planning, and rebuilding of the EHR is occuring. In the past, this process had been limited to a few people with limited experience in direct clinical care. With this project HRH has dedicated a group of associates to plan, design, and implement 6.0. Each member has worked extensively with their particular module as an end user. They are aware of what works well and what needs to be improved. This concept has improved the success of recent upgrades to the Magic platform. As the rebuilding occurs, great care is taken to build with though to ease of abstraction and flow of information. A physician champion and physician work group have been chosen to provide feedback on physician order management.

Evaluation:
Although full implementation has yet to occur, some components of 6.0 HRH have been implemented such as Provider Order Management, EMAR/BMV, voice recognition dictation, and electronic tranfusion record. As a result compliance to required documentation has improved.

Implications for Practice:
Implemented EHR components have improved physician order management-orders are legible and entered by the physician directly to the area in which the order will be carried out. Physicians have access in their offices to the EHR of patients as well as hospital staff can view physician office visits.