GENESEO, Illinois – Hammond-Henry Hospital has adopted a new Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system for the hospital and its Family Practice/Walk-In Clinics, HHH leaders said in a recent news release.
The hospital’s board of directors, administration, and IT management announced that the facilities are transitioning from Meditech to Epic, a state-of-the-art platform hosted by UnityPoint.
Hammond-Henry had utilized its current EMR software (Meditech) since 1999, HHH IT Manager Heather Henry said.
Over time, technological advancements and regulatory requirements in the healthcare industry have demanded more from EMR systems and the hospital’s move to Epic is in response to that need.
“We want to give our patients the best possible care, but in this transition period, we ask for your patience and understanding as our staff continues to learn and adapt to new workflows,” CEO Wyatt Brieser said in the release.
“The decision to move to Epic included the year-long-plus effort of heavily researching EMR companies and determining which would best meet current needs while also helping Hammond-Henry Hospital reach its goals for the future.”
The move to Epic means all existing and new HHH patients will have a new patient portal, MyChart.
About new patient portal
Through MyChart, patients can communicate with their care team, schedule and manage appointments, review medical records and view After-Visit Summaries and clinical notes documented by your provider.
The transition to Epic will take place on Sunday, Sept. 21. Hammond-Henry said it will continue to contract with the same insurance plans and bill for service independently.
“Epic is used by some of the largest hospital organizations in the country,” Mr. Brieser said. “These vast networks of hospitals have extensive teams of technical support staff and other resources needed to implement and maintain highly complex systems and interfaces.”
He added “Small critical access hospitals, like us, lack these resources. To accommodate small hospitals, a program called ‘Epic Community Connect’ was formed. This program allows larger organizations, UnityPoint Health in our case, to host Epic for a sub-network of smaller hospitals.”
The new CEO stressed that the switch does not mean HHH is owned by or affiliated with UnityPoint Health.
“We remain an independent hospital,” he continued. “Even if you see the UnityPoint Health name and logo, please know that Hammond-Henry remains the independent critical access organization that you know and trust.”
The hospital warned that a patient’s first couple of visits may take a little longer than usual as they may be asked for information than in the past.
“At the end of every visit, patients will receive an After-Visit Summary via the communication method of your preference,” Mr. Brieser said. “This document will outline your visit from that day, show any future appointments you have scheduled, and list your current medications and any new orders or changes made.”
For more information, visit www.hammondhenry.com/about/epic-mychart.
