How CIOs With MEDITECH Are Putting Meaningful Use Within Reach

The responsibility of meeting "meaningful use"With ECM, health information management
standards falls squarely on the shoulders ofdepartments scan in paper documents and ECM
healthcare IT. However, getting there will takelinks it directly to MEDITECH. Then, users just
much more than just infrastructure and softwaredouble-click a button to bring up the documents
upgrades. David Blumenthal, National Coordinatorrelated to that MEDITECH screen. Users retrieve
for Healthcare IT, has consistently stated that theclinical content, such as photos, PACs images and
definition will center on improving patient careEKGs, in the same way.
through technology, not just having technology inBy integrating an ECM solution like this, CIOs give
place.physicians, nurses and staff a secure one-stop
That means the CIO's responsibility will be moreshop in MEDITECH, improving adoption and
than just rolling out software. It will be critical thatsatisfaction. Caregivers will spend less time looking
they evaluate technology solutions and choose thefor information and more time with patients. With
right ones to support truly better patient care.a full patient picture, they make the most
Then they have to prove to physicians, nursesinformed care decisions.
and staff that they are a vital tool in providing theTie Documents, Data and Processes Together
best care possible.Organization-wide
What MEDITECH MissesUpgrades are often very expensive and take one
CIOs have to create a MEDITECH record thatto two years to implement. MEDITECH hospitals
gives physicians all of a patient's information. Butacross the country have realized that ECM
while MEDITECH is very good with patient datasolutions that tie together documents, data and
and structured information, it can miss importantprocesses are deployed quickly and for a fraction
patient information that originates outside of it.of the cost.
Unstructured content like paper, faxes, images,In addition, paper and disconnected systems
photos, forms, etc., often elude even the bestaren't just a problem when hospitals try to reach
systems.meaningful use standards. Billing and accounts
However, if physicians still have to go to paperreceivable, payroll and personnel, and accounts
charts or multiple applications outside ofpayable departments are all struggling with paper
MEDITECH to get what they need, physicianfiles and slow, manual processes. By using the
adoption and satisfaction rates will suffer. Worsesame ECM system in these departments as clinical
yet, physicians could make a care decision withoutareas, CIOs create exponential value with one
all the available information and put patients'system. Areas across the hospital eliminate paper
safety at risk.and automate processes to save time and
No matter how or where patient informationmoney.
originates, it has to be easy for physicians to get"In many instances, MEDITECH is the right
to it the moment they need it. Just scanning andtechnology to handle our data," said Dimitri Cruz,
archiving content isn't enough. IT has to figure outCIO at Bayonne Medical Center. "But the push to
how to capture all of a patient's information andmeet 'meaningful use' forced us to realize that it's
integrate it directly into MEDITECH.not enough - we needed ECM...It brings together
Getting a Complete EHR with MEDITECHdata and paper-based content to not only create
To capture the information most EHRs overlook,a more complete patient record, but also to help
many hospitals are creating an enterprise contentus work smarter in administrative departments.
management (ECM) strategy. They are choosingBy going with ECM, we're getting more out of our
an ECM solution that digitizes traditional papercurrent system and meeting the federal
records and integrates clinical content intogovernment's standards - and all for a third of the
MEDITECH.cost of upgrading MEDITECH.