Heart Hospital Goes "PAPERLESS"

Heart Hospital Goes "PAPERLESS"
JCAHO Awards Accreditation to All-digital Hospital

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A group of physicians in Oklahoma had a vision: to build a hospital from the ground up to be fully digital and completely paperless. Oklahoma Heart Hospital recently opened its doors as the first all-digital specialty hospital of its kind, realizing the vision of those 34 cardiologists by using Cerner solutions, including computerized physician order entry (CPOE). The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) rewarded the innovation and efficiency of the hospital with full accreditation.

Oklahoma Heart Hospital is located in Oklahoma City and has 78 beds, plus an outpatient facility that serves more than 500 patients per day. Owned by Mercy Health Center of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Cardiovascular Associates, the healthcare system employs 427 people. Oklahoma Heart Hospital was recently granted accreditation by JCAHO because the hospital met a high set of standards dictated by the association. The electronic medical record underwent an open record review. This stringent review process verifies the safety of the hospital, confidentiality of the patient record and HIPAA compliance, disaster recovery systems and medication integration.

Oklahoma Heart Hospital implemented a complete set of Cerner solutions in this new hospital, including solutions for physician practices, pharmacy, radiology and patient accounting. The cornerstone of the system is Cerner's CPOE solution. CPOE systems are designed to reduce errors caused by illegible handwriting or other discrepancies and allow clinicians to order tests and prescriptions electronically for quicker service to the patient. All medical information is contained within the electronic medical record for easy, secure access for the doctor or nurse. Cerner's CPOE solution offers healthcare organizations the flexibility to install a core, basic system and expand it to encompass the full capabilities of the advanced solution. Oklahoma Heart Hospital opted for the advanced, knowledge-based systems that provide physicians with research and information at their fingertips to help them make more informed decisions at the bedside. Since Oklahoma Heart Hospital has a comprehensive set of solutions connecting all departments within the hospital, CPOE is more effective than in an environment with stand-alone systems that do not effectively communicate with each other.

"It's truly a prototype for the hospital of the future -- all-digital, all-paperless and designed by physicians with the patient in mind," said Dr. Dwayne Schmidt, a cardiologist at Oklahoma Heart Hospital. "The vision of the cardiologist group is really what molded this hospital to be what it is today."

"It's this kind of visionary thinking that will transform the way healthcare is delivered to truly impact and improve patients' lives," said Neal Patterson, chairman and CEO of Cerner Corporation. "It's rewarding to work with a hospital like Oklahoma Heart Hospital because we share a common vision and passion for health care. Since I grew up in Oklahoma, it is especially fulfilling to help these cardiologists realize their vision of total healthcare automation to provide better care."

"This specialized hospital might have been paper-based without the vision of Oklahoma Cardiovascular Associates," said Mike Packnett, CEO of Mercy Oklahoma. "From the start, they wanted to build this hospital from the ground up to be all -- digital,-- all paperless, and they have succeeded. This hospital will most likely be a model for other specialty hospitals to transform the care they deliver."

"Oklahoma Heart Hospital is patient-centric," said Dr. John Harvey, cardiologist, medical director and chairman for Oklahoma Heart Hospital. "This new technology helps our cardiologists and clinicians devote more time to patient care at the bedside because lengthy administrative functions of a paper-based hospital are expedited with Cerner automation."

"We've defied the conventions of most hospitals," said president and chief executive officer of Oklahoma Heart Hospital Michael Schroyer, RN, MSN. "Since the hospital was built to be all digital, there is nearly no space or manpower devoted to the storage and maintenance of paper records and much more time and space devoted to delivering patient focused care to our patients."