KershawHealth Integrates EKG Traces, Clinical Documents into EHRs w/ Access Clinical Data Bridge

SULPHUR SPRINGS, Texas - June 19, 2013 - PRLog -- KershawHealth, a leading provider of healthcare services in South Carolina, recognized that printing, scanning and manually indexing EKG traces was inefficient. The organization selected a clinical data bridge from Access to remove paper and manual steps from the process.

“The Access system was easy to implement because it doesn’t require the end user to change their process,” said Adam Triplett, PC tech at KershawHealth. “The only difference is that they’re not dealing with hard copies.”

Previously, a nurse printed out all of the pages of an EKG trace and sent them to HIM for processing. An HIM team member then scanned each page and entered patient and document information.

Now, the nurse selects the Access system as a virtual printer, and the complete EKG trace is sent directly into the correct patient’s EHR. This has been well received by nurses and HIM staff as well as physicians, who now quickly get up-to-date information.

KershawHealth will soon extend its use of the clinical data bridge to perinatal documents created in GE Centricity, Compumedics Sleep, and then to data output from ScottCare’s cardio rehab system. Setting up these new feeds will not cost the organization any more, because of the enterprise licensing option it selected.

“Access offered us unlimited feeds so we could expand their clinical data bridge to many systems and devices. For the price one of our other vendors charges to get output from their clinical system into EHRs, we can apply the Access system to any medical device or clinical application that prints,” Triplett said. “We’re not only getting a great deal, but we also can centralize our clinical output management.”

In addition to using the clinical data bridge, KershawHealth is using Access’s electronic forms on demand solution to create new efficiency at registration and on clinical floors.

Once a registrar has set up a new or returning patient in MEDITECH, they click a button and the Access system generates bar-coded wristbands and a bar-coded e-forms packet customized to the patient, with demographics mapped from MEDITECH for faster completion. Upon scanning, the Valco system uses the bar codes to send the e-forms into the correct patient’s EHR.

“Access has helped us speed patient throughput, and we’re now registering patients in less than two minutes on average,” Triplett said. “And as we’re generating forms on every desk, our staff can focus on the patient instead of getting up to retrieve forms. This helps improve productivity and patient engagement.”

About KershawHealth

KershawHealth is a multifaceted healthcare system providing a broad range of diagnostic, medical, surgical, rehabilitation, and community wellness options throughout Kershaw County and surrounding communities. In addition, the healthcare system includes the 88-bed Karesh Long Term Care Center, the KershawHealth Outpatient Center and Urgent Care at Elgin, and primary care and specialty medical practices. It is anchored by KershawHealth Medical Center in Camden — a comprehensive 121-bed acute care facility that includes diagnostic, inpatient, outpatient, and emergency services. Learn more at http://www.kershawhealth.org.

About Access

Hundreds of hospitals worldwide use paperless Access solutions to integrate e-forms, electronic patient signatures and clinical data into EHRs. Access helps improve care, eliminate financial and environmental costs and enhance patient safety and downtime registration initiatives. Learn more at http://www.accessefm.com and see Access's clinical data bridge in action here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o6nMpRvOLU