Hillcrest Medical Center Emergency Department Goes Live With Forerun FlexChart Physician Charting Software

Physician Adoption at 100 Percent on Day One of FlexChart Rollout

Forerun, Inc., the industry trendsetter for emergency department (ED) electronic charting solutions, recently announced that Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa, Okla. has gone live throughout the ED with Forerun's FlexChart advanced physician documentation software. Hillcrest Medical Center is the flagship institution of the Hillcrest Healthcare System, and a part of Nashville, Tenn.-based Ardent Health Services. The 681-bed Hillcrest Medical Center is among Oklahoma’s most widely respected hospitals and has been serving patients for more than 90 years.

The decision to implement FlexChart came in response to requests from ED clinicians confronted by multiple major challenges tied to a legacy charting system. “The legacy solution didn’t provide a concise record of the encounter with the patient,” said Stephen Thomas, M.D., Chief of the Hillcrest ED and Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma. The IT staff also faced issues with the legacy system, according to Mark Gilliam, Ardent CIO. “The physicians struggled with the legacy application’s capabilities, and we wanted to find a solution that was less time-consuming and required fewer IT resources for support,” he said. “Our criteria for a new system included extensive data reporting capabilities, ease of use that enables rapid clinician training and fast, accurate documentation with smooth deployment and minimal requirements for IT.”

Comprehensive ED Charting--Easy to Deploy and Use

After evaluating multiple physician charting products, FlexChart was the choice of both technologists and ED physicians. “FlexChart was extremely easy to deploy.  We went from project kickoff to implementation in just six weeks,” Gilliam said.

The Hillcrest ED is staffed by 18 emergency medicine residents and 12 full-time physicians. “It was like we flipped a switch and everyone started using FlexChart,” Dr. Thomas said. “The interface is extremely intuitive, so new users require very little or no training. Our residents can learn FlexChart well enough to use it effectively within one hour,” he continued.

Product support has been efficiently streamlined with physicians now calling Forerun directly with any questions. “We went with the implementation model in which Forerun acts as the system host,” explained Gilliam. “They did a good job with training, and they handle most of the support, which makes our jobs easier.”

Complementing ease of deployment and use, as well as top-tier support are the benefits FlexChart provides in terms of improved overall productivity and care delivery. “We are now able to chart in a fraction of the time that was previously needed,” Dr. Thomas noted. “Whenever physicians can spend more time with patients rather than with documentation, there is a positive impact on patient satisfaction and care delivery.” In addition, FlexChart improves performance on quality measures by providing documentation reminders within the chart to ensure that gaps are quickly identified and addressed while also enabling enhanced communication with referring physicians via timely electronic information delivery. 

“The Hillcrest ED physicians’ experiences with FlexChart mirror what we’re seeing in implementations across the country,” said Ken Wolfe, Forerun President and CEO. “The clinically-driven design of FlexChart means that ED physicians like it better and learn it faster, resulting in rapid adoption of Forerun’s ED charting solution in virtually any care delivery environment.”

About Forerun

Forerun, Inc. is a leading innovator of electronic clinical information and documentation solutions for the ED through its flagship clinical documentation platform, FlexChart. This advanced solution was designed by ED operational physician specialists to address the common ED physician experience of being required to chart on  cumbersome, inefficient software not specifically designed to meet the unique needs of the ED.  FlexChart increases physician productivity by enabling physicians to complete complex charts legibly and accurately in a fraction of the time spent charting on legacy in-house systems. FlexChart also provides quality care enhancements and reminders that are usable, flexible, and work with in-place documentation style and workflow, while also supporting a safe hand-off process with enhanced communication among caregivers.

Specifically designed to smoothly integrate with applications currently running in healthcare provider organizations, FlexChart provides ED physicians with the tools they need that are unique to emergency medicine. It is a complete turnkey solution with embedded clinical customization capabilities and is configured by Forerun technical and ED physician experts to meet the requirements of each enterprise.

For a demonstration of FlexChart in action, visit www.forerunsystems.com.

About Hillcrest Medical Center

For more than 90 years, Hillcrest Medical Center has provided an environment of hope, health and healing, offering extraordinary care and a multitude of services.  Not only is Hillcrest a proven leader in serving eastern Oklahoma’s health care needs through the many additions and expansions it has accomplished in its history, but it has also pioneered many "firsts" in technological and medical advancements on a local, state and national level. Hillcrest Medical Center is a service of Hillcrest HealthCare System. Please visit http://www.hillcrest.com.

Hillcrest HealthCare System is a part of Ardent Health Services. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Ardent subsidiaries own and operate health systems in the U.S. The network includes 10 acute care hospitals, a rehabilitation hospital, a multi-specialty physician group, a 240,000 member health plan and retail pharmacies. Additional information is at http://www.ardenthealth.com/