Marshall Browning Hospital to launch electronic health records at clinics

DU QUOIN - Marshall Browning Hospital will take a big technological leap forward when it launches Electronic Health Records connecting the hospital and physician practices on July 2.

"After months of hard work and employee training, we are proud to launch this new system that will connect our physician clinics to the hospital," said Dan Eaves, CEO. "The system will connect the hospital with the specialty clinic physicians that we bill for, meaning those physicians will now have secure access to a patient's medical information collected in the hospital, medical clinic and urgent care clinic and producing one medical record."

The push for physicians to begin using Electronic Health Records (EHRs) is becoming more and more important to health care organizations nationwide, since it will be a requirement to qualify for incentives associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (better known as the Federal Stimulus package, passed in 2009). By implementing an ambulatory EHR that integrates with the hospital system, Marshall Browning becomes a technology leader not only locally, but at the state and even federal level.

Physicians in the clinics will have secure access to medical information collected for their patients in the hospital, the Emergency Room or other locations across the organization. The practice software runs on the same platform and seamlessly shares data with the hospital software, which allows them to maintain a single list of medical problems, allergies and medications, among other important health data.

"The benefits will be significant in terms of the quality of care, patient safety and the cost of providing care," Eaves said. "We look forward to providing this new service to the community and appreciate the support of our patients as we implement this new technology."