Launch of one of the US's largest electronic medical record implementations

Buffalo Hospital and Allina Hospitals & Clinics are launching one of the nation’s largest electronic medical record implementations this week.

As part of an ongoing mission to improve the quality and safety of patient care, Buffalo Hospital is the first Allina hospital to transition away from paper processes and begin using an electronic medical record system that will ultimately be shared by all of Allina’s seventy-six sites, including 11 hospitals and sixty-five clinics. Four Allina Medical Clinic sites in Annandale, Buffalo, Cokato and Litchfield transitioned earlier this month.

“Transitioning to an electronic medical record system is a top priority for Allina because it provides our doctors and employees with the necessary tools to enhance the quality and safety of the medical care we deliver to patients,” says Dick Pettingill, President and CEO of Allina Hospitals & Clinics.

“I’m very proud of the Buffalo Hospital staff and physicians for leading the way for Allina in piloting this revolutionary tool,” says Mary Ellen Wells, president of Buffalo Hospital. The number of sites and the sharing of patient records among those sites make this implementation one of the largest, most integrated electronic medical record systems in the country. When the implementation is completed in the next four years, all of Allina’s clinics and hospitals will document a patient’s care in one shared electronic medical record. Buffalo Clinic physicians will have access to their patients’ hospital records but their patients will continue to have separate hospital and clinic records.

A single, shared medical record provides a more complete picture of a patient’s medical history at Allina which translates into less hassle for patients in transferring their medical information from one Allina caregiver to another and/or repeating the same information multiple times. Doctors and caregivers will be able to reference all of a patient’s vital statistics, test results, medications, allergies and prior health conditions – regardless of where the information was collected within the Allina system.

“Understanding the full scope of a patient’s current and past care helps doctors make the best recommendation for a condition or illness,” says Andrew Burgdorf, MD, a family physician at Allina Medical Clinic – Buffalo and at Buffalo Hospital. “Often times, patients don’t remember or can’t provide details of the care they have received. With one patient record, Allina caregivers are able to view information about a patient’s treatment at Allina, confer with each other on patient care, and review a history of test and lab results.”

Buffalo Hospital’s and Allina’s electronic medical record system will help provide patients with greater peace of mind knowing their caregivers have the information they need: Timely access to medical information. A patient’s complete medical history can be viewed with a few clicks of the computer mouse by doctors and caregivers with security privileges, providing immediate, easy access to patient information.

One source of patient information. If a patient has been treated at the hospital and is at the clinic for a follow-up visit, documentation from their hospital stay is easily available to doctors and caregivers

Immediate safety checks. As an added safety feature, the system automatically cross-checks a patient’s allergies and current medications with any new prescriptions being considered by the doctor or caregiver. The physician will be alerted immediately if there is a potential drug or allergy interaction and is able to order a different medication without delay.

Providing information once. Because patients have one medical record that is shared among their caregivers, they only need to provide their contact and insurance information, as well as details of their medical history once – including allergies, medications and prior health conditions. After that, patients merely verify the information is up-to-date.

Quicker access to test results. Now, a caregiver is notified when test results have been added to a patient’s electronic medical record. There is no waiting for test results to travel from the lab to the caregiver’s office or from one caregiver to another. Having one record that is shared among caregivers and locations makes it easier to review a history of test results.

Allina has a long history of investing in and implementing new technology to improve patient care. Research on implementing an electronic medical record began in the mid-1990s and programming and development began in 2003. The end-result is a record that more than satisfies a major Department of Health and Human Services initiative announced by President Bush in July 2004, requiring medical providers to begin documenting patient care in an electronic format.