Ardent Health Services to implement Epic EHR
Nashville-based Ardent Health Services plans to unite all its hospitals and physician groups on an Epic Systems EHR platform.
The move, Ardent officials note in an announcement on its website, will offer caregivers with a single, stronger patient information system to help streamline their work. The main goal is to give caregivers more time at the bedside to boost care quality and patient outcomes.
"This investment is a significant step in our journey to deliver high-quality clinical care and exceptional customer service more efficiently," said David T. Vandewater, president and CEO of Ardent Health Services in a statement. The estimated cost of the project is $150 million.
Nearly 500 Ardent team members, including physicians, bedside nurses, registration and discharge staff representing each part of the care continuum and all specialties participated in the demonstrations and assessment, Vandewater added.
Ardent will replace 80 information systems currently in use across its facilities with the Epic platform. The goal is to increase efficiencies by streamlining services such as registration, billing, clinical applications and population health initiatives.
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Ardent will become the first investor-owned hospital company to use Epic throughout the entire organization, which includes BSA Health System in Amarillo, Texas; Hillcrest HealthCare System in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Lovelace Health System, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They include 14 hospitals and three multi-specialty physician groups.
Epic staffers will begin working alongside Ardent employees this summer to build the software system, a process that typically takes nine to 10 months. The first Ardent health system is due to transition to Epic in the fall of 2017 and the others are scheduled to follow each quarter.
As part of the deal, Ardent will also deploy Epic's MyChart software, a portal that enables patients to find personal and family health information online. Patients will be able to message doctors, attend e-visits, complete questionnaires and schedule appointments.
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Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com
