MEMORANDUM
FROM: Bruce S. Anderson
President and Chief Executive Officer
TO: HHSC Employees and Medical Staff
SUBJECT: ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS UPDATE
I am extremely pleased to announce that the HHSC Corporate Board of Directors, during its monthly meeting held at the Kona Community Hospital today, Thursday, July 14, 2011, unanimously approved a motion that allows management to enter into a contract with Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. for a new Electronic Medical Record system.
The board approval is the outcome of a comprehensive process that involved extensive discussion and collaboration among the HHSC regions and corporate office representatives from a range of functions, including: physicians, nursing, pharmacy, imaging, laboratory, therapies, revenue cycle, information technology, contracting, legal, administration, etc. Equally important, the selected vendor was able to respond effectively to the unique needs of our community-hospital system that provides acute, critical access, and long-term care to our island communities.
EMR is the new way that all hospitals, including all HHSC facilities, are required to keep patient records. The project involves bringing technology to HHSC in a manner that will drive excellence and automation in all of our operations. The EMR system will keep track of our patients' health and medical history in a computerized electronic format. All patient files, including history, diagnosis, medications, and other important information will be kept electronically and safely secured.
The HIS/EMR contract will include the following HHSC regions: West Hawaii - Kona Community Hospital and Kohala Hospital; Maui – Maui Memorial Medical Center; Kula Hospital, and Lanai Community Hospital; Oahu – Leahi Hospital, Maluhia, and Kahuku Medical Center; Kauai – West Kauai Medical Center and Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital.
The HHSC East Hawaii region – Hilo Medical Center, Ka'u Hospital, and Hale Ho'ola Hamakua – started its switch to EMR in May 2010, and will join the other regions in utilizing the accompanying Health Information System (HIS) function for some of its financials (i.e., patient accounting, order entry, admitting, etc.)
At this point, HHSC management is examining various funding options, and hopes to finalize a five-year contract with Siemens Medical Solutions, USA, Inc. by the end of July 2011.
Your regional leadership and I will be sure to keep you abreast on any new developments, including when the contract is finalized and details of the first phase of implementation.
On behalf of the HHSC Corporate Board of Directors, my sincere appreciation goes out to all of the HHSC hospital and Medical Staff, who have actively participated in this on-going effort up to this point, and who remain committed to making this implementation a success!
Dr. Bruce Anderson, President and CEO of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation (HHSC) sent out the following message yesterday. HHSC is our state's public hospital system.
updates are very important especially for programs like this that hold so much information on every patient.
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