Lakeland HealthCare will "flip the switch" on its system-wide electronic health records system on Feb. 25.
The system covers Lakeland HealthCare’s four hospitals in Berrien Center, Niles, St. Joseph, and Watervliet as well as the Center for Outpatient Services, St. Joseph. The change to electronic health records is mandated by the federal government.
Lakeland HealthCare affiliate physician practices with approximately 500 physicians, medical providers, nurses, and support staff went live with the system in October 2011.
Once the system is fully operational, the system will track patients’ health information across multiple entry points within the hospitals -- emergency department, radiology, and pharmacy, for example -- outpatient centers, and participating physician offices. Patients’ health records also will be more accessible to Lakeland HealthCare providers across the entire system.
For patients, a web-based portal called Lakeland MyChart now provides online access to their medical records, including test results. Community members may obtain an activation code by visiting
here.
The software for the hospital system’s electronic health records software is used at some of the region’s largest healthcare institutions, including the University of Michigan, the Cleveland Clinic, and the Ohio State University Medical Center.
The electronic health records project is one of the most complex and expensive in the hospital network’s history and Lakeland has been working on implementing it for two years. Nearly 3,000 hospital associates have logged 25,000 training hours to date so far. The project also added 600 computers throughout the hospitals, bringing the total number of personal computers throughout the health system to more than 4,000.
The system is a designed to help provide safer, higher quality, and lower cost care.
"It will forever change the way we deliver care," says Loren B. Hamel, MD, President & CEO, Lakeland HealthCare.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave
Source: Laura Bailey, Lakeland HealthCare
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