FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 26, 2009

St. John’s Mercy Medical Center to Implement
Integrated Electronic Health Record System August 30
“Go-live” is largest for Sisters of Mercy and creates one of the
most integrated systems in St. Louis

St. Louis – St. John’s Mercy Medical Center is implementing an electronic health record (EHR) system to help manage virtually every aspect of the patient care experience beginning on Aug. 30. The Medical Center is the Sisters of Mercy Health System’s sixth hospital to go live on this electronic health record system and one of the largest, with more than 6,500 co-workers and physicians being trained on the new system. St. John’s Mercy Hospital in Washington, Mo., implemented this system in late July.

The system creates a single, consolidated and continuously updated electronic record for each St. John’s Mercy patient. A more complete picture of a patient’s health is all in one place and instantly available to the patient’s health care providers.

St. John’s Mercy physician practices started using the electronic health record system in February 2008. Now more than 350 physicians and nurse practitioners at approximately 100 practices use this EHR. On Aug. 30, when St. John’s Mercy Medical Center begins using the same electronic health record system, many of its patients will have information already populated into their electronic chart. This single chart will contain information from patient visits to St. John’s Mercy physician offices, inpatient hospital visits, emergency and urgent care visits and all outpatient services such as lab, imaging, physical therapy and other St. John’s Mercy services.

“This EHR implementation represents a level of integration for Mercy patients in the St. Louis region like we’ve never seen before. Our work to make the idea of ‘one patient, one record’ a reality is a huge undertaking, but an achievement that ultimately benefits our patients,” says Chris Crain, executive vice president of clinical care initiatives for St. John’s Mercy Medical Center. “The size and geographical coverage of this integration is not common in the health care industry. We’re proud of our physicians and co-workers and can’t wait to turn on the system so our patients can start seeing the benefits.”

The go-live will occur in two phases, with computerized provider order entry (CPOE), electronic medication reconciliation, core clinical documentation tools for nurses, plus applications for the emergency department, peri-operative services, registration, billing, scheduling, radiology and pharmacy being implemented in this first phase on August 30. The second phase is scheduled to begin October 25 with physician documentation and advanced clinician documentation.

The EHR system St. John’s Mercy Medical Center is implementing is from Epic Systems, based in Madison, Wis. The Medical Center will be one of the largest facilities in the country using

Epic’s computerized provider order entry (CPOE) functionality. Using CPOE, physicians input medication and treatment orders directly into the system, rather than jotting them on paper or relaying them verbally, reducing the chance of misinterpretation. Automatic alerts help prevent potential negative drug interactions or allergic reactions. Electronic charts are complete, legible and always at hand. Providers have ready access to evidence-based medical information.

“Clearly, no amount of technology will ever replace the human touch, but St. John’s Mercy’s new computer information system is an innovative tool that helps us fulfill our commitment to serving patients with the highest levels of safety, quality care and personal service,” says Crain.

To follow the launch live follow @stjohnsmercy on Twitter beginning on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 7 a.m. and look for updates throughout the week on the St. John’s Mercy Health Care Facebook page.