HealthONE(TM) Leading the Way in Electronic Medical Records

DENVER, Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Physicians and nurses across the HCA- HealthONE LLC system will soon have instant access to electronic medical records of patients who have been treated in any of HealthONE's eight emergency departments.

HealthONE this year will complete implementation of T SystemEV(R), an emergency department information system (EDIS), at all of its acute care facilities. Rose Medical Center, Swedish Southwest ER and Swedish Medical Center began use of the state-of-the-art electronic medical records system this summer. Remaining emergency departments at Centennial Medical Plaza, The Medical Center of Aurora, North Suburban Medical Center, Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center and Sky Ridge Medical Center will have T System implemented before the end of 2006.

"It's a whole different patient experience," says Brenda Cox, RN, and Director of Emergency Services at Rose Medical Center, which was the first Denver hospital to use T System in June. "The biggest positive is that this technology enhances the speed & ease with which we get the information. This could potentially make a difference in what's done for that patient as they're being treated."

How it works

T System uses a centralized server, integrating patient records from all eight HealthONE emergency departments with Meditech and PCI -- HealthONE's inpatient record systems -- allowing physicians and nurses immediate access to view if a patient has visited any HealthONE emergency rooms, allowing for more precise and accurate care based on the patient's medical history. The system incorporates national standards for record-keeping and patient privacy protection.

The T SystemEV is accessed by hand-held computers or tablets, desktop and laptop computers preloaded with standardized templates that prompt triage nurses or physicians with questions tailored to various conditions. There are 26 templates for nurses, 50 for physicians. This allows more efficient assessment of a patient's illness or injury, expedites treatment and decreases waiting time in the emergency department.

For instance, if a patient has chest pain, the 'chest pain' template cues the nurse to ask several specific questions such as: "When did your pain start?" "What were you doing when it started?"

"The series of templates are very thorough and ensure nothing is missed, providing additional consistency in care from our emergency departments," says Vicki Owens, ER Director at Swedish Medical Center.

T System is bringing HealthONE direct cost savings by nearly eliminating transcription fees. Physicians add their notes directly into the electronic record rather than dictate them for subsequent transcription and addition to a patient file. T SystemEV also provides more accurate billing codes, discharge instructions and prescription-writing features. The technology allows healthcare systems to be more efficient -- getting patients out the door and back to their day-to-day lives faster.

Facilities nationwide using T System have seen door-to-doctor time decrease by as much as 40 minutes and the average length of stay in the emergency department decrease from more than 4 hours to about 2.5 hours.

"This is a strong documentation system that we have already seen enhance patient care," says Robert Power, HealthONE and HCA Continental Division Director of Information Systems.

HealthONE is the largest healthcare system in the metro Denver area with 8,700 employees and 3,000 affiliated physicians. Recently named Colorado's "Best Company for Working Families -- large business category," the health system was created in 1995 as a 50/50 joint venture between various affiliates of HCA and HealthONE Alliance, a Colorado nonprofit organization. HealthONE includes: The Medical Center of Aurora and Centennial Medical Plaza; North Suburban Medical Center; Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center; Rose Medical Center; Sky Ridge Medical Center; Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital; Swedish Medical Center and Swedish Southwest ER; 10 surgical centers; more than 35 occupational medicine/rehabilitation, Broncos Sports Medicine, specialty, and outpatient diagnostic imaging clinics; as well as AIRLIFE, which provides critical care air and ground transportation for a seven state region.

T-System Inc. and T-System Technologies, Ltd., headquartered in Dallas, Texas, provide innovative medical documentation solutions designed to enhance documentation quality and clinical efficiency. Nationwide, more than 1,700 hospitals use T-System products and services including 99 installations of T SystemEV (emergency department information system), T System for Emergency Physicians, T System for Emergency Nurses and T System for Primary Care. For more information, visit http://www.tsystem.com/.