Medsphere OpenVista Implementation Further Integrates Healthcare Facilities In State Of West Virginia
Aliso Viejo, CA - Medsphere Systems Corporation, the leading provider of Open Source healthcare IT solutions, recently announced the successful implementation of its OpenVista electronic health record (EHR) at Lakin Hospital, a certified long-term nursing facility operated by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR). The implementation is part of an ongoing project that is uniting all of West Virginia's state-run healthcare facilities through a contiguous electronic repository of patient information.
Located in the northwest part of the state, Lakin Hospital provides geriatric care to West Virginia residents with long-term behavioral or developmental needs. The 114-bed center is one of seven DHHR-operated healthcare facilities to be connected via the OpenVista platform. Four of the facilities—Welch Community Hospital, William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital, Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital, and Hopemont Hospital—are already implemented and communicating. Pinecrest Hospital and the John Manchin Sr. Healthcare Center, the two remaining facilities in the program, will be connected by the end of May 2008.
"Shifting from a paper-based records system to its electronic equivalent is a significant step for us, but Medsphere and OpenVista have made it a positive experience," said Melissa Wamsley, CEO of Lakin Hospital. "Medsphere has worked closely with our people, from the early design and development process through the training phase and implementation. The end result is a system that is being accepted by our staff with minimal concerns."
OpenVista is a commercialized version of the highly acclaimed VistA EHR system created by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. Upgraded to meet the needs of non-VA institutions, OpenVista is offered through an innovative and affordable subscription-based pricing model that eliminates a common barrier to EHR adoption: prohibitive up-front costs. The high degree of flexibility and customization, along with 24/7 support, enable individual facilities and multiple care networks to improve patient care.
OpenVista recently enabled Midland Memorial Hospital in West Texas to be named a Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics Stage 6 facility following a more rapid and less costly implementation than is available with alternative solutions. Through the Stage 6 designation, HIMSS Analytics recognizes healthcare facilities that have implemented healthcare IT solutions and achieved established levels of automated patient care and clinical process improvement.
"The DHHR electronic health records initiative includes both a clinical package for patient care and an operations component," said Jerry Luck, Project Manager for West Virginia DHHR. "Without OpenVista, our developers would have had to build an integrated solution incorporating billing, administrative and revenue management. OpenVista, in concert with Keane Inc.'s revenue cycle management software, solves that problem for us."
The West Virginia DHHR health records initiative is at the forefront of such efforts nationwide that endeavor to reduce costs and improve patient care. With the common clinical database made possible through OpenVista, West Virginia healthcare workers can more accurately document patient care, obtain current information, and easily access records from multiple locations. Once the install is complete at its seven acute, psychiatric and long-term care facilities, West Virginia DHHR will evaluate integrating its EHR system with various community health centers and clinics, further extending the availability of patient records for treatment purposes.
"Medsphere's project with the State of West Virginia is serving as a blueprint not only for our company, but also for integrated and multi-site health information technology initiatives across the country," said Medsphere CEO Michael J. Doyle. "With the drive for electronic medical records gaining steam at both the federal and state level, West Virginia's program helps pave the way for vastly improved health records management."
As part of the State of West Virginia rollout, Medsphere is coordinating the integration of OpenVista with Keane Inc.'s Patcom revenue cycle management system and VistaKEANE Resident Account Management (RAM) software. Medsphere is the primary contractor in the implementation.
The Lakin Hospital implementation is one in a recent series of events at Medsphere that includes John Danahy joining the company as vice president of sales and Scott McMullen coming onboard as vice president of engineering. The company's current activities include OpenVista implementations at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and other facilities in the West Virginia DHHR network. The system is already in use at four other West Virginia DHHR facilities, Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland, Texas, Century City Doctors Hospital of Los Angeles, Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, Wyoming, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Indian Health Service, and other care delivery organizations.
SOURCE: Medsphere Systems Corporation