Seeing the whole picture

Ben Bromley/News Republic

It's a move that could eliminate writer's cramp for nurses and patients alike.

More importantly, St. Clare Hospital's shift to electronic health records will promote safer and more efficient care.

Early this morning, St. Clare plugged in a new system that computerizes every patient's "chart." It's designed to eliminate errors that come with hand-copying reports, and it instantly puts the latest information at doctors' fingertips.

"You put all the data in one patient record. It gives everyone a good view of what's going on," said Al Steevens, the hospital's technology manager. "It should provide a better, safer environment to receive care."

The new system will cut down on the number of forms patients have to fill out in the waiting room, and the number of documents nurses must copy. Nurses won't need to decipher doctors' notoriously illegible handwriting.

St. Clare's parent, SSM Health Care of Wisconsin, bought the system from Epic Systems of Verona. It's part of an SSM initiative to use technology to improve patient safety, boost efficiency and standardize practices. For example, the system reduces medication errors through built-in safeguards that alert staff to potential conflicts.

More than 500 terminals have been installed throughout the hospital, including mobile carts stationed at patients' bedsides. St. Clare appears to be the first rural hospital in Wisconsin to install a comprehensive electronic health records system.

St. Clare chose Epic because its system is user-friendly and allows for customization — project manager Annette Fox's team spent recent weeks adapting the system to meet the hospital's needs.

Employees underwent training on the system in preparation for "going live" at 12:01 a.m. today. "It's not just a matter of throwing a bunch of computers up there and saying, 'Go to it,'" Steevens said.

Physicians will have remote access to records. With one look at an electrocardiogram, they'll be able to assess a patient from home.

Records can be viewed by staff at sister facilities such as the Medical Associates clinic and St. Mary's Hospital in Madison. Patients will be able to access their records, too. The system is protected for security.

Some of the less technologically inclined physicians are unsure about the switch, Dr. Kansas DuBray said, but many are eagerly setting up time-saving templates for their reports. "I'm excited, personally," DuBray said. "It's something that's been a long time coming."

The new system will save nurses from searching for charts and other documents. Nurse manager Wendi Kohnert said a recent study found nurses spent 1.5 hours of every eight-hour shift doing just that. "I'd say 100 percent of my staff are really excited about this," Kohnert said.

The foremost beneficiaries, St. Clare staff said, will be consumers. Patients win when care is delivered safely and efficiently, using the best methods available. "I think it will benefit patient care from numerous levels," DuBray said. But what will everyone tease doctors about, now that the legibility of their handwriting is irrelevant? "We'll find something else," Fox joked.