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Network: April/May 2008
Launching Sentara eCare Health Network®: Years of Effort Usher in Healthcare Transformation at Sentara
Historic moments often take years of planning to come to fruition; such is the case with the launch of Sentara eCare® at Sentara Leigh Hospital, the first Sentara hospital to undergo the major electronic healthcare transformation soon to be followed by all Sentara facilities.
Sentara eCare® Fast Facts
 Establishing an electronic medical records (EMR) system is imperative to keep up with the changing evolution of healthcare.
Sentara eCare® is a comprehensive EMR system designed to increase patient safety, enhance the patient-physician relationship and improve communication between healthcare providers.
Hundreds of subject matter experts, including physicians and nurses, throughout Sentara helped design Sentara eCare® to ensure it met their needs and the needs of their patients.
Only healthcare professionals who are directly involved in the care of patients have access to medical information, ensuring privacy to our patients.
Sentara eCare® decreases paper documents, hard copies of diagnostic images, duplicate tests, and redundant phone calls, and eradicates hard-to-read handwritten prescriptions.
One day soon, patients will be able to access portions of their own medical records. In the future, they’ll be able to request appointments, refill prescriptions, check their information and read doctors’ notes, as well as access health information and get electronic notices for checkups and other appointments.
| As part of the nationwide initiative for electronic medical records (EMRs), Sentara physicians, employees and staff worked for thousands of hours building, testing and honing the tool that allows healthcare providers secure access to a single EMR for each patient, thus allowing better communication and continuity of care.
But Sentara eCare® is more than just an EMR; it comprises all aspects of health care, including appointment scheduling, billing and prescription management.
“The Sentara eCare Health Network® is actually how Sentara is leveraging electronic health information to better care for our patients,” says Michael Elliott, PharmD, MSHA, a pharmacy manager at Sentara Leigh Hospital, who has been involved with the initiative for more than a year and a half.
Patients Benefit from Technology
Increased patient safety and enhanced quality of care top the list of reasons for implementing the new system.
Jay Vergara, RN, nursing project manager at Sentara Leigh Hospital, says the technology improves care and reduces medical errors by providing physicians real-time access to the patient’s entire medical history, lab and radiology results, as well as offering electronic prescriptions and medication documentation. “Having all the information at their fingertips allows them to better manage their patients,” he says.
Soon, patients also will be able to access portions of their own medical chart, including information on disease topics, medications and other knowledge that will empower them in managing their health.
Patient security has taken utmost priority, they add. “Only doctors and healthcare providers who are involved in a patient’s care have access to a patient’s EMR,” Vergara stresses.
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| Dr. John Parker |
Advantages for Physicians, Staff
Healthcare physicians and staff reap the benefits as well. For example, case management, including charting and documentation, is easier and duplications are reduced because information each healthcare provider adds is accessible online — from the physician’s workplace or at home — immediately.
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| (L-R) Beth Kaessner, Sentara Leigh Hospital, gets familiar with the charting, with the help of Jordan Tucker of Epic. | Cardiologist John Parker, MD, has been following with interest the developments in electronic medical technology for 15 years and is pleased to be involved with the initiative at Sentara. “The system is a major asset for physicians,” he says. “Because the electronic notes made by each caregiver carry from one day to the next, you can clearly see the progress of a patient’s care.”
In addition to the increased continuity of care, Dr. Parker cites the convenience of accessing all pertinent information in one place. “It’s easy to determine the status of the orders to help us deliver optimal care,” he says.
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| (L-R) Daisy Reynoso, Susan Martone and Mark Szalwinski take a look at a electronic medical record in the Endoscopy Suite. | Managing a Fast-paced Environment
The system has also improved patient triage and tracking in the Emergency Department (ED), says Lisa Scheels, RN, ED team coordinator at Sentara Leigh Hospital. She was part of the emergency department’s early adoption of phase one of the ED portion, which went live in September 2007.
“We need to move rapidly in the ED, but we also want to ensure we are helping the patients with the greatest needs first,” she explains. Once a patient is registered, he/she sees the triage nurse to determine the level of care, which is recorded in the system. Using a tracking tool called the ED Manager’s Board, nurses and physicians can see at a glance where the patient is in the process.
“The tool helps the charge nurse run the emergency room efficiently,” she says.
Efforts Pay Off
This transformation took years of planning throughout Sentara. Hundreds of physicians, nurses and employees worked together to build the intricacies of the system.
“Physicians and nurses literally built the system. They told us what they needed, and we worked together to make it happen,” Elliott says.
Another enormous portion of the initiative involves training — for Sentara Leigh, all 1,300 members of the staff, says Vergara. “Much energy went into ensuring everyone had ample opportunity to learn the system.”
Sentara Leigh paved the way for future Sentara eCare® implementations. Currently, hundreds more are continuing to work at each facility to shape the system for their own needs.
“We’re fine-tuning and overcoming challenges now to help smooth later implementations,” Vergara explains. Implementation plans at Sentara include:
2008
- Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital
- Sentara Bayside Hospital/Sentara Princess Anne Health Campus
2009
- Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
- Sentara CarePlex Hospital
- Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center
2010
- Sentara Obici Hospital
Elliott encourages everyone to embrace these transformations. “We’re witnessing a revolution in healthcare, and I consider myself lucky to be a part of it.”
Read more of the eCare® feature stories in Network.
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