The challenge

Health records contain a hybrid of information — multiple types of information existing in various formats across departments documenting different attendances.
Mater Misericordiae Ltd (Mater), a seven-hospital health system in South Brisbane, Australia needed a better way to put all patient information into the hands of its clinicians. “Anything that existed on paper or in another physical format was disconnected from the patient information our clinicians accessed through our clinical portal,” said Sallyanne Wissmann, director of information management. “In order to get the information they needed, our clinicians had to rely on either the records arriving through a push model or they’d submit requests and wait for them to arrive.” 

The solution

The health system implemented Hyland’s OnBase enterprise information platform across all seven of its hospitals. Mater deployed OnBase in the health information management (HIM), ambulatory, outpatient and revenue cycle areas, and integrated it with its clinical portal.  

Staff now scan all new clinical documentation — inpatient, ambulatory, emergency, attendances — into OnBase, which has also significantly reduced the need to provide paper charts.

“With 1,000 beds across seven hospitals, Mater’s medical records department had provided more than 40,000 records a month,” said Wissmann. “From the moment we implemented OnBase across all of our hospitals, we saw an impact. Within 12 months after our go-live, we saw an 85 percent reduction in the amount of paper records provided.”

The difference

“Our goal is to make all of a patient’s health record available in our clinical portal so that when a clinician brings up a patient’s record, they can be confident they have all the information they need,” said Wissmann. 

Authorised users access information stored in OnBase from within the familiar applications they use every day to easily retrieve what they need. Having all patient information easily accessible allows clinicians and staff to spend less time finding information and more on clinical care, research and education. 

As Mater’s single enterprise content management system across the enterprise, OnBase serves as an official, legal record. With multiple document imports from third-party systems, images are now stored in OnBase and linked to the clinical portal.

Unlike paper charts, OnBase secures sensitive and confidential information, allowing only authorised users access to information.

OnBase virtual print driver and point-of-service scanning capabilities helped Mater significantly reduce the need to print and scan in documentation. The health system completely eliminated what had been a $12,000 monthly spend on chart covers and dividers within nine months of implementing OnBase.

“Ultimately, we want to capture patient information electronically, natively. So when we looked at content management solutions, we wanted to find one that wouldn’t require us to have to reinvent the wheel in a future state,” said Wissmann. “Hyland is more of a business partner than a vendor — they’re invested in our ability to meet our goals and are well-positioned for future growth and initiatives.”

More information on the Mater Case Study can be found here.