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Jackson Hospital Plans High-Tech Upgrade

Posted on: Friday, 9 September 2005, 12:00 CDT

Sep. 9--Jackson Hospital has entered an $18 million, multiyear contract with McKesson Corporation to install a comprehensive information technology system throughout the hospital.

McKesson will implement several technology packages over the next 24 to 29 months. Hospital administrators hope the new system will help reduce errors in the implementation of health care and provide a better and more efficient clinical experience.

"The intent is that you get the right drug, at the right time, to the right patient, in the right route and the right dose," said Chief Information Officer for Jackson, Richard Caldwell. "This was developed at Vanderbilt University, so we are standing on the shoulders of giants, so to speak."

Physicians and other caregivers will be able to access patient records, radiology results, a pharmacy database and other records via "portals," which administrators hope will make medical treatment more accurate and efficient.

"Anywhere that has Internet access, they will be able to securely log into the system," said Caldwell. "We will have a wireless capability throughout the hospital, so caregivers could do all this throughout the hospital."

That means any clinician with a portable computer will be able to access records, fill out medical requests, pharmacy prescriptions or complete other functions while walking the halls of Jackson.

Additionally, the system, which in its final stage will incorporate a full database of electronic medical records, will be able to check a doctor's orders or prescriptions against the patient's medical profile, Caldwell said, reducing the chance of mistakes.

A 1999 report from the Institute of Medicine shows that 98,000 patients die per year due to human error in the health care industry.

"That's something we seek to eliminate here," Caldwell said.

According to one doctor at the hospital, immediate access to a patient's medical history will reduce the need for paper searches, which will free caregiver time to focus on patient care.

"As a result, we will be able to make more informed and collaborative evaluations that will lead to more effective decisions and safer levels of care," said Dr. Randy Cook in a press release from the hospital.

The project is being completed in two distinct phases, each scheduled for about a year. The financial, patient accounting, admissions and discharge systems are some of the functions to be replaced during the first phase.

Today, about 20 McKesson employees can be seen in the halls of the hospital working on system implementation, said Peter Frohmader, director of marketing at Jackson.

In support of the new system, the hospital also expanded the information technology department by at least five positions, he said.

"Jackson and McKesson both are doing this on a timeframe that is not really typical. We are going through an accelerated process to bring this many McKesson products online" at the same time, said Frohmader.

The project is set to wrap up in August of 2007, but certain functions will come online earlier when the first phase ends next summer.

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Source: Montgomery Advertiser

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