Sylvan Grove Hospital moved further into the digital age this week. On May 3rd the hospital moved from a reliance on paper records to primarily electronic ones. This new records process means increased patient safety, reduced costs and increased access to patient’s medical record by their physician. Hospital staff and area physicians have been in training the last two months in readiness for the transition.
According to John Quinn, CEO for Sylvan Grove Hospital as well as sister hospital, Spalding Regional Medical Center in Griffin, “Electronic medical records allow our physicians and clinical staff access to a patient’s complete record, 24 hours a day and available instantly.” Mr. Quinn believes patient care is greatly enhanced. “This will provide access to the latest patient information including vital signs, lab results, medications, radiology scans – even previous hospital stays, and more; all used in making clinical decisions and delivering great patient care”
Information will no longer be handwritten, but keyed in electronically, making patient information available in a timely manner, legible and kept up to date constantly throughout a patient’s stay.
Electronic medical records will also allow a patient’s physician to be able to access their charts from remote locations, such as the physician’s office. It provides an important method for the hospital and doctor to share information resulting in better coordination of care, ability to cut unnecessary costs and reduce medical errors.
Patient care is what the electronic medical record is all about. For patients it means an increase in safety, alleviating medication errors due to illegibility, and the availability of medication histories; and access to some of the latest clinical practices made available to physicians and other care providers at the point of care. It can also reduce costs by elimination of duplicated procedures across multiple health providers.
The new system is also secure; following security standards set forth by the Federal Government, and is fully HIPPA compliant. It is a closed network with no open internet access. The new system utilizes built-in computer security tracking to monitor all record requests; with audits performed regularly.
Sylvan Grove Hospital launchesd electronic medical records on May 3rd along with sister facility, Spalding Regional. Both are Tenet Healthcare hospitals and are the first Tenet facilities in Georgia to launch the new system.