Spectrum Health and Medicity, Inc. announced that they have deployed a platform that enables secure health information exchange between hospitals and physicians for enhanced clinical decision-making, care coordination and patient safety.
Step by step, the health care industry is transitioning to the electronic medical record (EMR). However, connectivity between hospitals and physician offices can be challenging because they often have different electronic systems or, in many cases, no systems at all. The platform jointly deployed by Spectrum Health and Medicity is being offered to physicians throughout West Michigan. This solution integrates clinical information with the EMR at a physician’s office. In addition, if an office is still using paper charts, Spectrum Health supplies a bridge solution so they can start interacting electronically. More than 75 physician offices across eight counties in Michigan now receive data electronically from Spectrum Health and an additional 70 offices are in the process of being connected.
“Spectrum Health is dedicated to finding the most effective ways to electronically connect our patient health information with physicians and their offices,” said Patrick O’Hare, senior vice president and chief information officer, Spectrum Health. “By partnering with Medicity, we have been able to provide this information electronically, which helps our physician community become more efficient and, more importantly, improves patient care because the information can be accessed throughout a patient’s life.”
Using the eSHare Results solution, based on the Medicity Novo Grid solution, Spectrum Health is able to send real-time laboratory, radiology and transcribed results directly to the physician’s EMR or to the office’s electronic “dropbox.” Traditionally, when a doctor’s office receives laboratory results from a hospital, the results come via a fax machine and are not added directly into the EMR, resulting in significant costs in supplies. Furthermore, this method does not leverage the benefits of the EMR, which stores information in a way that can be accessed over time by providers of patient care.
According to Kipp Lassetter, M.D., Medicity’s CEO, “Spectrum Health can now maximize operational efficiencies across its enterprise with our scalable and secure Agent-Grid solution, fulfilling its vision of improving patient care and safety. The Medicity-powered health information exchange infrastructure integrates Spectrum Health’s clinical and administrative data across disparate care locations, enabling Spectrum Health to improve care collaboration and coordination throughout the entire continuum of patient treatment.”
Spectrum Health also makes it possible for physician practices and other hospitals to submit electronic lab orders directly to the health system rather than asking patients to carry the order to the lab location. Other integrated solutions delivered with Spectrum Health’s eSHare Results and Lab Orders platform, developed in partnership with Medicity, include radiology orders, management and admission notifications.