New Release Of T-System's ONC-ATCB Certified Emergency Department EHR Improves Workflow And Efficiency

Beta partner Duncan Regional Hospital employs enhanced integration and data exchange features to achieve Meaningful Use and qualify for ARRA funds

T-System, Inc., the industry leader in clinical, business and I.T. solutions for emergency medicine, recently announced the general availability of T SystemEV version 3.0, the latest iteration of its emergency department (ED) information system. The solution offers significant advancements in clinical workflow, operational efficiency and interoperability that hospital and health system EDs need to drive higher quality care and financial results.

T SystemEV, version 3.0, complies with 2011/2012 Phase 1 of Meaningful Use requirements. The EHR Module was certified on March 8, 2011, by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT), an ONC Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ATCB), in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The 2011/2012 criteria support the Stage 1 Meaningful Use measures required to qualify eligible providers and hospitals for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

"Since implementing T SystemEV version 3.0, we've noticed impressive refinements in system navigation, workflow and integration with our MEDITECH Magic hospital information system," said Roger Neal, chief information officer, Duncan Regional Hospital in Duncan, Okla., one of several hospitals that piloted version 3.0. "One immediate benefit of the new version is that it is easier to reach Meaningful Use compliance for Stage 1. The T SystemEV CPOE module will help us meet a large portion of the Meaningful Use requirement of 30 percent of all medication orders that must be placed through certified EHR CPOE technology."

The key enhancements of T SystemEV impact four important areas:
Clinician Workflow: Nurses can access feedback on their documentation deficiencies at any point during the charting process. When reviewing an issue, they can click on a "Go To" icon that will quickly navigate them to the page where additional documentation is needed. This feature increases the probability that documentation will be complete for billing and regulatory needs.

Operational Effectiveness: Hospitals can now make it mandatory for mid-level providers and resident doctors to assign an attending physician to a patient chart. This feature ensures the billers and coders have the necessary authorizations to process the chart and do not have to go back to hunt down information, reducing delays and increasing time to bill.

Meaningful Use: The ONC-ATCB certified solution helps EDs demonstrate Meaningful Use. It offers features to provide a unified view of the patient's medical history, availability of electronic copies of records to patients within three days of receiving a request, and out-of-the-box reports for submitting proof of Meaningful Use compliance.

Interoperability: T SystemEV version 3.0 helps ensure that data can be more easily shared with other information systems outside of the ED. New capabilities allow for the bi-directional exchange of key patient information between T SystemEV and another electronic health record including medication and allergy data and a continuity of care document (CCD). The seamless data flow eliminates redundant information, streamlines processes, improves the overall quality of patient care and lays the foundation for the drive to collaborative, community-based care.

"The interface between MEDITECH Magic and T SystemEV allows us to capture patients' home medications to minimize human error and better promote safety," noted Neal. "When patients arrive at the ED, we can document all of their home meds or pull existing data from either system. At admissions, we can enter in or pull more detailed demographic and allergy information from T SystemEV. The enhanced data capture and integration options go a long way in improving everyone's workload and productivity as well as meeting The Joint Commission guidelines for medication reconciliation."

"We are seeing many requests from our clients to install the new version," said Robert J. Hitchcock, M.D., F.A.C.E.P., chief medical information officer of T-System, Inc. "Aside from just demonstrating Meaningful Use, hospitals and health systems are focused on finding innovative, easy-to-adopt approaches to meet the current and growing demand for emergency care while improving their bottom line. We've timed the introduction of our new version to help them meet these critically important needs. Our team has been working overtime for the past six months to develop the right functionality and to help clients prepare for a successful implementation." T SystemEV, version 3.0's certification number is VV-1112-239140-4. CCHIT's ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification does not represent an endorsement of the certified EHR technology by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services nor does it guarantee the receipt of incentive payments.

T SystemEV, version 3.0, meets the following certification criteria:

• 170.302(a) Drug-drug, drug-allergy interaction checks
• 170.302(b) Drug-formulary checks
• 170.302(c) Maintain up-to-date problem list
• 170.302(d) Maintain active medication list
• 170.302(e) Maintain active medication allergy list
• 170.302(f) Record and chart vital signs
• 170.302(g) Smoking status
• 170.302(h) Incorporate laboratory test results
• 170.302(i) Generate patient lists
• 170.302(j) Medication reconciliation
• 170.302(l) Public health surveillance
• 170.302(m) Patient-specific education resources
• 170.302(o) Access control
• 170.302(p) Emergency access
• 170.302(q) Automatic log-off
• 170.302(r) Audit log
• 170.302(s) Integrity
• 170.302(t) Authentication
• 170.302(u) General encryption
• 170.302(v) Encryption when exchanging electronic health information
• 170.306(a) Computerized provider order entry
• 170.306(b) Record demographics
• 170.306(c) Clinical decision support
• 170.306(d) Electronic copy of health information
• 170.306(e) Electronic copy of discharge instructions
• 170.306(f) Exchange clinical information and patient summary record

About T-System
T-System, Inc. sets the industry standard for clinical, business and IT solutions for emergency medicine, with approximately 40 percent of the nation's emergency departments using T-System solutions. To meet the individual needs of hospitals, T-System offers both paper and electronic systems. These tools help clinicians provide better patient care, while improving efficiency and the bottom line. Today, more than 1,700 emergency departments rely on T-System's gold-standard content and workflow solutions. For more information, visit www.tsystem.com.

SOURCE: T-System, Inc.