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PPV: Create an EHR-capable facility from the ground up

EHR Connection, August 27, 2007

Before the hospital even opened in 2005, leaders at Saint Clare's Hospital, a 107-bed facility located in Weston, WI, set their sights on creating an all-digital hospital. As plans and technical functionality fell into place, Saint Clare's promoted the digital aspect of the hospital and focused on hiring intelligent, capable employees who were committed to reaching the all-digital goal.

"It was a real marketing opportunity for us," says Tanya Townsend, MSMI, director of IT at Saint Clare's, "to say that we've got the best diagnostics [and] the highest technology available. It was an attraction for patients as well as employees."

The hospital conducted early feasibility studies, which indicated that training and support, including a robust super-user program, in which the most competent and eager EHR users help spread the use of the new system, had to be cornerstones of Saint Clare's plan. "We knew that we needed to have people embedded in all of our areas that truly understand not only the work flows and the processes, but also how to use the systems to integrate those two things," Townsend says.

To learn more about how EHR increases efficiency and reduces errors, click here. The cost is $10. Subscribers to Electronic Health Records Briefing can sign on for free access.

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