MidMichigan to go live with $55 million Epic EHR on April 1
After more than a year of preparing, MidMichigan Health has set a date for its go-live with an Epic Systems EHR that will connect five of its six medical centers, doctors’ offices and outpatient care facilities.
MidMichigan Health, which is affiliated with the University of Michigan, pegged the cost of the project at $55 million and officials noted that the new EHR would replace multiple vendor systems that required maintaining many custom interfaces, which had become unsustainable. As such, registration, scheduling and billing will also be on the same Epic platform.
[Also: Allscripts, Cerner, Epic signal more open EHRs ahead]
“When we go live on April 1, we’ll have more than 750 staff designated as super users who will offer support to those using the new system,” MidMichigan Health CIO Dan Waltz said in a statement. “Our previous system showed us that we had a real opportunity to transform the way patient care is delivered. We’ve reviewed and incorporated best practices into the design of the system and have no doubt this EMR will give our patients all that they deserve and more.”
Waltz said more than 160 MidMichigan and Epic staff “worked around the clock” preparing for the rollout.
“The benefits of the new EMR to our patients are numerous,” Pankaj Jandwani, MD, chief medical information officer at MidMichigan Health, added. “Anywhere the patient goes within our system, a MidMichigan provider will have access to their full medical record.
Jandwani added that the new EHR would enable patients to do many more things electronically, such as schedule appointments online, self-check-in from home or at on-site kiosks, take advantage of virtual care options such as telemedicine and e-visits, and view and pay all MidMichigan Health bills from one account.
A second phase of the rollout will connect MidMichigan Medical Center in Alpena, Mich. in September 2017, and MidMichigan Home Care in the spring 2018.
Twitter: @Bernie_HITN
Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com
