Elmore Medical Center Selects Optio's Comprehensive EHR, Forms Automation, Document Archive And Imaging Solutions

Subscription-Based Solutions Expected to Streamline Hospital Operations, While Improving Patient Care

Alpharetta, GA - Optio Healthcare announced today that Elmore Medical Center, a 25-bed hospital in Mountain Home, Idaho, has selected Optio's subscription-based electronic health record (EHR), forms automation, document archive and imaging solutions to streamline operations throughout the hospital, while accelerating the timely exchange of patient information throughout the continuum of care.

"The ability for our physicians to gain access to our data without delay is the most important aspect of Elmore's decision to go with Optio," said Tricia Senger, Elmore Medical Center's chief financial officer. "When it comes to managing medical records, we've had to spend a lot of time pushing paper. This system will allow our physicians to go in and with a few clicks, send information where it needs to go. It's very efficient."

The Move Toward EHR
According to Senger, the move towards electronic health records is something that hospitals can't avoid. "Eventually we will all have to do it," she explained. "Getting physician and nurse buy-in prior to purchase is the key to its' ultimate success. We created a team that we thought would be essential towards making the right decision. For our facility it was an easy decision; it's a great suite of products and very easy to use."

The subscription-based contract with Optio includes various software modules in addition to Optio's EHR and forms automation solutions. Elmore Medical Center will also be implementing Optio's document archive; patient-signature capture and imaging solutions.

Paperless Technology Reduces Manual Errors
"We looked at Optio's technology as a way to go paperless and reduce the possibility for manual errors," said Senger. "We spend a lot of money making copies of forms and manually changing information and putting together packets of information -- so somebody is constantly pushing paper. Optio's solutions will make hospital processes so much easier," she added.

Cost Savings and Additional Benefits
Elmore's chief financial officer expects that Optio's technology will significantly reduce the costs of paper and printing throughout the facility. She also expects to see a reduction in days' not final billed (DNFB), as well as the time that physicians typically spend commuting between healthcare facilities.

"We're a small hospital…so it's sometimes difficult to get our physicians into the facility to sign patient charts. I really believe that Optio's solutions will improve our DNFB status," said Senger. "When the physicians see how powerful Optio's solutions are, I'm sure they'll wonder how they ever lived without it."

"We're delighted to be chosen by Elmore Medical Center to provide a complete set of EHR and forms automation solutions," said Mike McGuire, Optio's senior vice president and general manager of healthcare sales and service. "This partnership underscores Optio's commitment to providing small hospitals with state-of-the-art technology that not only improves document-intensive processes, but ensures that safety and legal compliance requirements are met, both now and into the future."

SOURCE: Optio Healthcare Solutions