Integrated Health System: EMR Capability

These were purchased to enable the creation of an electronic medical record (EMR) that would integrate elements of a patient’s health history, medication information, test results and treatment plans in an electronic format.

Accenture provided oversight of the complex implementation program and the project team planned, analyzed, designed, built, tested and deployed a number of software modules on the Cerner Millennium information technology computing platform. More than 175 clinic physicians are using the new system, which automates key functions such as computer-generated faxing of prescriptions. Based on the success of the Phase 1 effort the health system asked Accenture to co-manage and maintain the new Cerner applications (and other core applications) for five years.

The new integrated EMR system has helped the health system establish a patient-centric environment that enables operational efficiencies and promotes better communication and collaboration among clinicians and staff throughout the organization. Patient records are now immediately available to clinicians across the enterprise and even via remote access. Structured workflows and documentation tools are further helping strengthen patient care and provide the health care system’s staff with complete access to the patient’s demographic, clinical and insurance information in all care settings.

Earlier, the health system had launched an ambitious program to enhance the safety, efficiency and effectiveness of care by improving and standardizing processes, implementing new technologies and building a new state-of-the-art inpatient facility. The health system’s decision to adopt EMR capabilities provides evidence that the organization is on the path to high performance.

The integrated health system knew that it was important to work with a service provider that had a solid track record of overseeing smooth and successful EMR implementations. Ultimately, it selected Accenture for our deep industry and technology skills, our proven experience in Cerner deployments and our program and transformation management capabilities. Also important was Accenture’s demonstrated commitment to helping provider systems achieve high performance and enabling an improved health care experience for patients.

Accenture assembled a team of professionals from our Health industry group to help implement the EMR software to support physicians, nurses and other clinicians in the hospital clinic settings. Accenture also worked closely with the client and Cerner resources throughout the project’s two-year implementation.

Specifically, Accenture provided oversight of the complex implementation program using a modified version of the Accenture Delivery Methodology, through which the project team applied standard methods and tools to deliver a high-quality, reliable, predictable and cost-effective solution.

Under Accenture’s program management direction, the project team planned, analyzed, designed, built, tested and deployed a number of software modules on the Cerner Millennium information technology computing platform. The main component of the new system was the PowerChart solution suite, which enabled the hospital to view clinical data. This simple interface, with its common look and feel, provided a marked improvement over an earlier legacy viewing system that pulled records from disparate systems and presented them in a non-unified way.

More than 175 clinic physicians are using the new system, which automates key functions such as computer-generated faxing of prescriptions. Together, PowerChart and PowerChart Office form the basis of a complete EMR capability. The team implemented and integrated other Cerner solution components, including:

• SurgiNet, a surgery and anesthesia information system, that addressed intra-operative aspects of surgical patient care, including scheduling and reporting, monitoring of patient status and complete documentation pertaining to intra-operative scenarios.
  
  
• ProFile enabled the organization to manage, direct and track paper-based records.
  
  
• Enterprise Master Person Index, provided a central repository for patient master data relating to information areas like demographic, employer and insurance details.
  
  
• Enterprise Schedule Management that allowed the hospital to improve its inpatient patient scheduling process across departments.
  
  
• Anatomic Pathology replaced a legacy system with an integrated solution to support laboratory processes and functions such as specimen management, reporting and pathology imaging.
  
  
• eSignature solution allowed physicians to sign documents from anywhere, using an electronic signature.

In addition to the Cerner implementations, Accenture managed the creation of an overarching training curriculum and a number of specific training modules, which the hospital then used to educate close to 5,000 end users on the system’s use and functionality.

Accenture has helped the health system take a step toward its goal of enhancing the safety and quality of patient care. The new integrated EMR system has helped the health system establish a patient-centric environment that enables operational efficiencies and promotes better communication and collaboration among clinicians and staff throughout the organization.

Patient records are now immediately available to clinicians across the enterprise and even via remote access. This means physicians can respond to patient needs in a timelier manner. Structured workflows and documentation tools are further helping strengthen patient care and provide the health care system’s staff with complete access to the patient’s demographic, clinical and insurance information in all care settings.

According to the system’s vice president and chief information officer, “Accenture has helped us deploy a solution that is not only facilitating a safer journey throughout the health care process for our patients, but also is helping us distinguish ourselves from our competitors. Patients want their health care providers to offer safe, cost-effective and high-quality care. The EMR solution is helping us meet—and exceed—those expectations.”

Indeed, patients already are realizing the benefits of the new system. The medication profile of patients visiting the integrated health system’s clinics is kept up to date, thus eliminating the need for patients to provide medication information at every clinic visit. Hospital staff members are able to schedule patients for procedures, locate available clinical resources across the organization and manage reimbursements more efficiently than ever before.

Clinic physicians are also able to auto-fax prescriptions to local pharmacies. These faxed prescriptions translate into fewer pharmacy errors.