Integration of new technology has resulted in dramatic improvements in patient healthcare at Southwest Medical Associates, Inc., a subsidiary of Sierra Health Services, Inc.
Southwest Medical Associates is utilizing a product called TouchWorks Electronic Medical Record (EMR) by Allscripts Healthcare Solutions (Allscripts), a leading provider of clinical software and information solutions. “It is a very important, valuable investment,” stated Michael T. Coleman, vice president of clinical operations at Sierra Health Services.
Sierra Health Services, based in Las Vegas, is a diversified healthcare services company. In addition to Southwest Medical Associates, it also operates health maintenance organizations, indemnity insurers and preferred provider organizations. Sierra’s subsidiaries serve more than 570,000 people through health benefit plans for employers, government programs and individuals. “At Sierra Health Services, Inc., 75 percent of members select Southwest Medical Associates, Inc.,” said Jenny Des Vaux Oakes, assistant vice president of public and community relations at Sierra Health Services.
Southwest Medical Associates is Nevada’s largest multi-specialty medical group practice, with over 200 physicians at 13 locations. It operates a 24-hour urgent care center, surgery center, radiology department and occupational medicine department. In 1994, it began automating its procedures, using an IDEX system as a clinical repository for internal records. TouchWorks EMR was launched at Southwest Medical Associates in September 2003.
The TouchWorks EMR product consists of a modular design approach. The modules currently utilized by Southwest Medical Associates are electronic prescribing, electronic medical records, care management software and digital radiology.
The first module to be implemented was electronic prescribing (e-prescribing). Physicians use a handheld device or computer to write prescriptions during the patient examination. The prescriptions are immediately transferred securely to the pharmacy via a server. “Benefits include notification of any drug interactions, cross-reactions and legibility of the prescriptions,” stated Coleman. Among the advantages of e-prescribing are increased safety, reduced pharmacy callbacks, higher revenue, enhanced healthcare decision-making and streamlined office efficiency.
E-prescribing is especially advantageous due to the large volume of prescriptions handled at Southwest Medical Associates. For example, during the month of March 2005, approximately 96,000 prescriptions were processed. E-prescribing significantly reduces medical errors and increases accuracy. “It is a revolutionary improvement,” stated Coleman.
An additional benefit of e-prescribing is the identification of HMO formularies in generic cost-effective solutions. “Approximately 68 percent of prescriptions at Southwest Medical Associates are generic,” said Des Vaux Oakes.
TouchWorks EMR has enabled Southwest Medical Associates to become “chartless.” Physicians enter patient diagnoses in the examination rooms. Documents, lab results, X-ray verifications and consultation reports are all scanned into the system.
The benefits from TouchWorks EMR have been significant. “Receiving wrong patient charts is eliminated. Charts and records are securely accessible off-site immediately. TouchWorks EMR also meets HIPAA compliance,” stated Dr. Craig Morrow, medical director of primary care and urgent care at Southwest Medical Associates. Physicians can utilize electronic medical record information to chart a patient’s progress for such items as blood cholesterol levels. The system tasks patient phone calls to the correct doctor who can take action and specify instructions for nurses.
Billing and coding, electronic orders for labs, X-rays and ancillary items will be incorporated as future enhancements to the system. Plans also include linking digital radiology to TouchWorks and providing patient access to personal health records though the on-line iHealthRecord. TouchWorks is the first electronic health record software to integrate with the interactive Health Record (iHealthRecord). The iHealthRecord allows patients secure access to their physicians and also lets them receive pertinent educational information and reminders regarding their healthcare.
Coleman stated, “Technology is changing. We are doing a good job staying ahead of the curve.”