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McKesson Healthcare IT Systems to Enhance Service and Safety at Clinton Memorial Hospital; Leading Community Hospital to Adopt Electronic Health Records

Posted on: Wednesday, 30 November 2005, 09:00 CST

With a five-year, $50 million building and renovation project recently completed, CMH Regional Health System's Clinton Memorial Hospital (CMH) begins the next phase of its clinical excellence and quality transformation with a move to electronic health records (EHRs). The Wilmington, Ohio-based hospital recently signed agreements totaling approximately $18 million to implement a wide range of clinical, financial and operational IT systems from McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK). The systems, which include the full Horizon Clinicals(R) suite as well as pharmacy automation, are designed to equip caregivers with sophisticated tools for optimizing quality and safety while streamlining processes and dramatically reducing dependence on paper.

"Our vision is for Clinton Memorial Hospital to become the best community hospital in America," said Tim Crowley, president and chief executive officer of CMH Regional Health System. "To achieve our objective, we must invest in systems that help physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other clinicians to provide more informed, safer care. McKesson's technology will also strengthen our core business processes, from daily scheduling and management of resources to billing, claims management and long-term strategic planning."

Building off its success with McKesson's medical imaging solution, one of CMH's top priorities is to provide physicians in the community with secure, Web-based access to patient information, including medication orders, test results, patient charts and diagnostic images. By using McKesson's HorizonWP(R) Physician Portal solution to connect physicians regardless of their location -- hospital, home or office -- CMH expects to enable faster, more informed decisions that lead to higher-quality healthcare.

"Our medical staff has already seen the benefit of technologies such as medical imaging, which has nearly eliminated the use of film, significantly reduced costs, and improved turnaround time and diagnostic quality," commented Keith Holten, M.D., director of CMH Medical Staff Education and the CMH Family Health Center/Family Medicine Residency Program. "We're excited about the prospect of an electronic health record and surrounding tools such as alerts and clinical decision support that support more immediate and more informed patient treatment."

CMH pharmacists will benefit from next-generation automation solutions that safeguard how medications are dispensed as well as a central pharmacy system designed with safety checks such as drug-interaction alerts. Once delivered to patient floors, nurses will use handheld bar-code scanning devices at the bedside to ensure the "five rights" of medication safety -- right patient, right drug, right dose, right time and right route. Medications administered will automatically be recorded in the patient's electronic health record, which can be viewed by all authorized medical staff caring for the patient.

In addition to improving safety, the use of electronic health records is designed to dramatically reduce CMH's dependence on paper, leading to both clinical and operational efficiencies. Once implemented, nurses and other caregivers may document patient care electronically at the bedside, enabling them to spend more time with patients while meeting regulatory requirements. Over time, CMH plans to implement clinical decision support technology to facilitate evidence-based care and use of demonstrated best practices for improving patient outcomes.

As part of its quality transformation, CMH will use McKesson solutions to help optimize reimbursement and financial management, manage facilities and human resources, centralize scheduling, and evaluate performance indicators. "With the practice of healthcare evolving rapidly, we see technology as a key vehicle for driving change and creating a more efficient, strategically focused organization," commented Andy Riddell, CMH vice president, Operations/Leadership Coach.

"CMH clearly appreciates the potential for information technology to drive clinical excellence and healthcare transformation," said Pamela Pure, president of McKesson Provider Technologies. "We look forward to partnering with CMH to help achieve safety and performance objectives that create a meaningful impact for the community it serves."

About Clinton Memorial Hospital

With 156 licensed beds and a medical staff of more than 130 in 30 specialties, Clinton Memorial Hospital offers a full range of medical services, including emergency, cardiology, acute care, oncology, women's and children's services, sub-acute care, rehabilitation services, surgical services, corporate health, home care, a sleep lab, and wound care. For more information, visit www.cmhregional.com.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 15th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes, and improving the quality and safety of patient care. Over the course of its 170-year history, McKesson has grown by providing pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, physicians, homecare, and payors; hospital and retail pharmacy automation; and services for manufacturers and payors designed to improve outcomes for patients. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com.

Source: Business Wire

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