3 Baptist Hospitals Go Online With Centralized Patient System

Baptist OneCare, Baptist Memorial Health Care’s new electronic health record powered by Epic software, went live at three Baptist hospitals in Mississippi on Dec. 1, including Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle.

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County in New Albany, Miss., and Baptist Memorial Hospital-North Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., also went live. One Baptist hospital in Mississippi, Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto, went live on Sept. 1, and Baptist Memorial Hospital-Booneville is scheduled to go live on March 1, 2015.

Baptist’s four Minor Medical Centers and 60 Baptist Medical Group clinics in Tennessee and Mississippi were the first to go live on Jan. 1 and 2, 2014. Since then, Baptist’s metro area hospitals, several regional Baptist hospitals in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi and a number of Baptist Medical Group clinics are live on Baptist OneCare.

The Baptist OneCare system will create a single patient record that both caregivers and patients will be able to access. The EHR aims to maximize efficiency by reducing the need for duplicate tests and patients having to give the same information to multiple caregivers, according to Beverly Jordan, vice president and chief clinical transformation officer at Baptist. Patient privacy is protected the same way it would be with a written record.

The biggest convenience for patients is MyChart, a free app accessible via Smartphone or computer that allows patients to schedule appointments, refill prescriptions, direct message their care providers with the option of including photos, access lab results and much more.

Patients can sign up for MyChart by going to mychart.baptistonecare.org.

“We are so excited to roll out Baptist OneCare in our hospital,” said Paul Cade, administrator and CEO of Baptist Golden Triangle. “Our staff has spent many months preparing to facilitate a smooth transition, and patients will be thrilled with the ease, convenience, and ultimately, enhanced care experience that the EHR allows us to provide.”

In July 2012, Baptist signed a contract with Epic, a software vendor based out of Verona, Wis.—paving the way for the 15-hospital system’s transition to a new electronic health record. The project involves all 15 Baptist-affiliated hospitals along with its clinics and financial systems. All 15,000 Baptist employees and 4,000 affiliated physicians will be affected by the project.

Baptist chose Epic after conducting a great deal of research and involving colleagues in numerous demonstrations, which more than 2,500 attended. Baptist took colleagues’ feedback into deep consideration before making a decision, according to Baptist leadership. Baptist colleagues played a role in branding the Epic-powered software as Baptist OneCare.

With approximately 270 customers, Epic serves more than 51 percent of the U.S. population and approximately two percent of the world’s population. Epic is known for making software geared toward use by mid-size and large hospital systems. KLAS’ 2013 Best in KLAS Report rated Epic as the No. 1 software choice in a number of categories, including acute care, ambulatory care, pharmacy care, and radiology, among others. KLAS isan independent company that measures vendor performance to help hospitals make informed decisions.