Paper gives way to electronic
health records at SSM, with immediate benefits

How can a computer system improve a patient’s safety and overall care?

When SSM Health Care launches its Electronic Health Records (EHR) system next month, patients will experience an immediate improvement in their care and patient experience. Here’s how:

• Your medical records go where you go — EHR provides patient information to anyone in the SSM network who is in charge of your care. Today’s paper chart can only be in one place at one time and needs to be duplicated at every SSM facility you visit. The EHR is available to everyone on your health care team from the moment it is created.
• Built-in automatic safety checks — EHR is an intuitive system that will check for dangerous interactions with other drugs you are taking and for known allergies at the time your physician prescribes a medication.
• After-care information to go — The system provides patients with a printed review of their medical history as well as doctor recommendations for patients to follow after they receive care.
• Best shared practices from national research — The EHR system gives physicians access to a growing national health care database that provides the best known treatment for a specific diagnosis.

  “One of the beauties of the EHR system is it gives access to the latest medical research and recommendations from organizations such as the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society,” explains Richard Vaughn, M.D., medical director of the EHR project. “Your physician can draw from these recognized best practices to offer the best care available.

  “Our patients will immediately see improvements in their care in reduced wait times and a more effective and safe treatment,” adds Vaughn. “As the system is further developed, patients will be able to access their own test results and their health history at home or work, with the ability to safely e-mail their doctor.”

  By late March, SSM St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake Saint Louis will be the first SSM hospital to launch an EHR system. Plans are in place for all seven of SSM Health Care-St. Louis hospitals and employed physician offices to transition from the traditional paper medical chart to a computer-based health record.

  With EHR, the future of high-tech patient care is now.