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Saint Al's moves ahead on e-records

BY COLLEEN LAMAY - clamay@idahostatesman.com

Copyright: © 2009 Idaho Statesman

Published: 11/12/09


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Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise is preparing its staff and physicians for a transition, years in the making, that it says will limit mistakes and cut waste.

Despite a nationwide consensus that electronic records should lead to better patient care, just 1.5 percent of hospitals so far have a comprehensive electronic records system, according to a 2009 study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The launch date for the Saint Al's system, called Genesis, is April 30. It is part of a massive effort by Trinity Health, the Catholic health system that owns Saint Al's.

Key features of the plan:

- Patients' treatment histories will be available around the clock to health care providers with privileges at the hospital. The goal is to give doctors tools to make informed treatment decisions. That includes coordinating the care of patients who see multiple doctors and avoiding repeats of tests.

- Physicians will send their orders for patients' care electronically, doing away with illegible handwritten orders.

- Orders for patients' medicines will be cross-checked with a database to help doctors and pharmacists catch potentially dangerous drug interactions. Medication errors are among the most common errors at hospitals nationwide.

- Patients will be able to review their medical records and give feedback electronically.

- Saint Al's will be better able to measure improvements in care, such as how quickly patients who need antibiotics get them.

- Nurses will take computers to patients' bedsides to document patients' recovery.

Colleen LaMay: 377-6448

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