Electronic recordkeeping at hospitals is 'astounding feat'

$450 million system links Fort Smith, Rogers, Hot Springs

By John J. Archibald
Hot Springs Correspondent

HOT SPRINGS -- A new way of doing business has arrived at Sisters of Mercy Health System hospitals in Arkansas, and it already has proven its usefulness for chaplain Father Alan Rosenau.

The old ways relied on a heavy stream of office paperwork to alert him to a person's religious preference. The new way is called Epic, an electronic health record system that alerts hospital doctors, nurses and professional staff to a patient's important information once that person arrives at their hospital.

'Epic' upgrade Click here

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"The thing that I like best about it on a personal level is that it's much more real-time. I've already had a couple of instances where people came into the emergency room. I knew then instead of when the information came up the chain," Father Rosenau said. "It'll show 'Joe Smith' came into the emergency room so I can see him instead of leaving and then getting a call and coming back later. I can see why the benefits are going to pan out across the board."

In late September, St. Joseph Mercy Health Center in Hot Springs and its 18 clinics and St. Edward Mercy Medical Center in Fort Smith became the latest Mercy hospitals to join the computer record system. Mercy Medical Center of Northwest Arkansas in Rogers went live in 2008. They truly are pioneers with only 2.6 percent of hospital systems nationwide having such a system, known in the industry as "stage six hospitals." What's more, the federal government has taken note and has required all hospitals to have one of these networks in place.

Edna Boone, senior director of the Health Information and Management Systems Society in Chicago, said it is a huge deal for any health system anywhere to achieve this status.

"Think about this: There are 6,500 hospitals (in the United States) and the stage six hospitals is a really short list. Those that have made it to that stage, that's an astounding feat for them," Boone said.

That short list includes Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minn.

The effects of hospitals at stage six, or the stage seven network of all hospitals connected, make some of the dreams of the medical world a reality, including:

Restrictions on who may access personal information

A drug recall that can identify every person registered at a hospital who bought the product, and alert them

A near-end to the problem of illegible physician handwriting

No more delays in doctors getting a chart for a patient who has had work done at that hospital

Methods to ensure the right dosage of a drug is recorded

Can people sign up their dentists? Not right now. But it's a popular question. "Somebody asked me that a day ago," said Jeffrey Slatton, a St. Joseph spokesman in Hot Springs.

So far, the Sisters of Mercy electronic record system has cost about $450 million. Approximately 23,000 employees now know how their job description requires them to use the network. Several backup systems are in place. All hospitals must have active reserve power systems before they may participate. The central information station is located near St. Louis in the Mercy Data Center, a $60-million complex designed to withstand an F2 tornado, power loss and flood. If need be, the contents of the center can transfer to the Library of Congress in less than seven seconds.

St. Joseph in Hot Springs and St. Edward in Fort Smith each had about 150 people at their respective hospitals when the system went live Sept. 26. It is known in the hospitals as the MyMercy system.

The system also is staying current with customer demand. Laura Keep, spokeswoman for the Mercy systems in Fort Smith and Rogers, said a mobile phone and smart phone application lets people see their records and make changes or set appointments.

For now, the system works with Mercy system hospitals in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas.

"You can't go to St. Vincent in Little Rock" and use the Mercy system, Keep said.

But the future shows that one day a patient with a doctor at Mercy will be able to go to St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center and have a record follow the patient. The Health Care Reform Act of 2010 includes Medicare penalties starting in 2015 for hospitals without an electronic medical record system. The Sisters of Mercy began working in 2005 on their network without federal pressure but as a way to increase service toward patients.

But no electronic system is going to cover all spiritual needs, particularly if someone who is Catholic doesn't get listed as such on a record, Father Rosenau said.

"For what it's worth, the homily is this: If you're Catholic and you're going to any hospital and especially any of ours here in the Diocese of Little Rock, make sure you let them know you're a Catholic. That way, you can make sure you get as much Catholic care and sacramental care as you can," Father Rosenau said.

'Epic' upgrade

Mercy Health System has 10 health care centers with electronic record systems.
Mercy Medical Center of Northwest Arkansas in Rogers
Mercy Health Center in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Mercy Health Center in Fort Scott, Kan.
Mercy Memorial Health Center in Ardmore, Okla.
St. John Mercy Hospital in Washington, Mo.
St. John Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis
St. John Regional Health Center in Springfield, Mo.
St. Edward Mercy Medical Center in Fort Smith
St. Joseph Mercy Health Center in Hot Springs and its 18 clinics
Source: Sisters of Mercy Health System

Quick facts

The Sisters of Mercy Health System ranks as the eighth largest nationally with almost 40,000 employees across 28 hospitals. The Mercy hospitals are online at http://www.mercy.net.

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