Midland Memorial adopts electronic health record platform for improved care

By Enterprise Innovation Staff | Jun 2, 2008

Medsphere Systems Corporation, the leading provider of Open Source healthcare IT solutions, today announced that partner Midland Memorial Hospital (MMH), the first commercial facility to implement the company's OpenVista electronic health record (EHR), has been recognized by the Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) as one of only nine Stage 6 healthcare facilities in the United States. The designation by HIMSS Analytics recognizes facilities that have implemented healthcare IT solutions and achieved established levels of automated patient care and clinical process improvement.

Stage 6 is the most substantial designation with regard to EHR adoption that HIMSS Analytics has applied to any healthcare institution or system to date.

The validity and importance of Stage 6 recognition is borne out by the results achieved at the nine facilities on the list. According the HIMSS Analytics, the hospitals saw significant improvements in a number of clinical metrics through the implementation of an EHR coordinated with internal process, workflow, and cultural changes.

"This really does validate what we've done. I'm really proud of what our people have accomplished," said Russell Meyers, Midland Memorial CEO. "Our ability to share information has made a tremendous difference to our doctors.

"We were a struggling community hospital," Meyers added, illustrating how far the organization has come in choosing the OpenVista EHR and subsequently garnering Stage 6 status. "This was a no-brainer for us. OpenVista is a more economical solution, it's proven and reliable, and I don't see any major advantages offered by more expensive solutions over what we've done."

Data provided by HIMSS Analytics indicates that the nine Stage 6 facilities make up only 0.1 percent of the more than 4,000 acute care facilities in the organization's database. The specific definition of Stage 6 includes full physician documentation with structured templates for at least one patient care service area, and the availability to physicians of all digital and film images through a secure network.