KSB goes digital: Electronic records more efficient, help keep patients safe

DIXON – Americans already communicate digitally, through computers, mobile devices, cameras and now even tablet computers.

It was only natural that the health care industry follow suit.

Electronic medical records are intended to enhance patient care, simplify administration and improve clinical efficiency.

One local facility to move from paper files to “EMRs” is KSB Hospital.

At KSB, electronic systems first were used for billing, payroll and financial purposes, said Timothy Broos, chief information officer and vice president of data processing.

That all changed about 10 years ago, when KSB began using electronic systems for clinical purposes. Since then, the use of electronic systems continues to expand.

Broos, who has worked in KSB data processing for 26 years, said the hospital is attempting to incorporate electronic patient medical records and the required support systems into the its operation.

One of the reasons the hospital has expanded its use of the systems is to keep up with the industry shift. Increasingly, vendor products rely on digital systems, Broos said.

“Twenty-five years ago, you never heard of the electronic medical record, it was just paper,” he said. “Now, vendors have developed those products.”

The automation of any process in any business is important, he said.

“The advantages of electronic medical records are the availability of the record to anyone on the network, legibility, structure of the data, and alerts and warnings.”

A change for the better

Micki Deltman, 48, of Sterling, has been a nurse for 15 years, the past 8 at KSB.

She described the process of using a computer terminal to conduct her job duties.

“The physicians, they write their orders, and the secretaries will transcribe the orders, and I am kind of like a double-check,” she said. “I take the orders and compare them, and I make sure everything is accurate. I note those orders and make sure the nurses are aware.”

The difference in her daily work before and after the electronic system capabilities are like “day and night.”

“When I first started up here, we did not have the computers,” Deltman said. “It’s very time-consuming, and reading the physician’s writing is always an issue. We tried to make sure that everything is accurate for patient safety. That is our top priority.”

Broos estimated the total cost of the nursing documentation systems at between $400,000 and $500,000.

As part of the federal stimulus bill signed into law last year, beginning in 2011, physicians will be eligible for extra payments from federal health insurance programs upon implementing an electronic medical record system.

In order to qualify for up to $44,000 in federal initiatives through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, physicians must demonstrate “meaningful use” of an EMR system.

KSB is working to meet the requirement within 5 years, Boos said.

Privacy concerns?

With the shift of clinical information to a new system, the hospital is prepared to handle any possible privacy concerns from patients and families.

Nurse Susan Donnelly is the hospital’s nursing data and documentation coordinator.

“We’ve had the staff sign contracts so that they know they need to keep things private and confidential,” Donnelly said. “We have lockdown systems so that patients or families or anyone in the rooms can’t get into them.”

The biggest disadvantage is any potential down time that would prevent access to information on a computer, she said.

Broos also said that a greater degree of training is required to prepare incoming staff to use the systems and equipment.

Looking toward the future

The current electronic medical records are working well now, and the hospital is plans to expand the scope of use in the near future, Donnelly said.

“We started with just the nursing section, but now we are adding on dietary, social services, and therapy,” she said. “We are gradually adding more and different departments to chart on the same system.

The next step in implementing EMR at the facility will be in the emergency room.

“We are going live with an ER system this year,” she said. “That is our next big project.”