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PatientKeeper Community Connectivity and Physician Workflow Solution Will Align Physicians with Hospital Best Practices for Quality and Safety

Michigan’s Oakwood Healthcare System has selected PatientKeeper, Inc., the leading developer of integrated physician information systems, for an electronic health record solution that will provide its physicians and other caregivers with streamlined access to a breadth of clinical information across all settings of care. After evaluating twenty-one vendors in the market, Oakwood will be implementing the PatientKeeper Platform, PatientKeeper Physician Portal and PatientKeeper Mobile Clinical Results. Oakwood’s goal is to enhance physician compliance with best practices and ensure patients receive high quality care.

Oakwood is a four-hospital, 1,281-bed, comprehensive regional healthcare delivery system located in southeastern Michigan. In 2008, Oakwood began a technology selection process to better align the hospital with its physicians, and to give physicians tools for more efficient, quality care. As physicians are increasingly challenged to utilize multiple information systems when caring for their patients, PatientKeeper software provides a single, integrated view that improves physician workflow. Oakwood also wanted to make outpatient information more available to physicians by providing remote access to their practice EMR systems from the hospital. PatientKeeper allows physicians to access patient information in a consistent manner both inside and outside of the Oakwood Healthcare System.
“We are committed to always putting care first. Despite a challenging economic climate, we feel this important strategic investment will immediately improve physician workflow and enhance their ability to deliver the highest quality of care,” said Paula Smith, CIO, Oakwood Healthcare System. “What’s more, the PatientKeeper Platform can serve as an accelerator to participating in future health information exchanges as they become active in our community.”

The PatientKeeper Platform will connect Oakwood’s multiple information systems into a unified environment from which physicians will access patient information across a variety of devices (Desktops, laptops, Smartphones, etc.). Data will be aggregated from many sources including the hospital GE Centricity Enterprise system, ancillary systems such as PACS and EKG, and eventually physician office systems. Medication information, lab results, vitals and other data are pulled together. Providers can easily navigate this information in a manner consistent with their workflow. Leveraging the hospital’s existing single sign-on system, physicians will have just one user name and password to remember; and patient context will be retained for improved patient safety.

“One of the things that has impressed me most about this project has been Oakwood’s commitment to physician involvement in the process,” said Dr. Vijay Khanna. “There were many integration options out there, but Oakwood is implementing a connectivity solution truly designed for the needs of the physicians. With better access to richer information, my office staff or I can log in from anywhere and play an active role in the care of my patients.”

Enabling physicians to easily work with clinical data across all settings of care fosters more informed clinical decisions, increases productivity and improves physician satisfaction. For referring physicians outside the hospital, the PatientKeeper software will improve physician satisfaction with the health system as the preferred destination for their patients, while reducing IT costs associated with supporting remote access networks. As an added benefit, PatientKeeper’s ability to ensure uninterrupted access to key patient information during planned and unplanned system downtime will provide a business continuity solution for the Oakwood Healthcare System.

“Oakwood is a great example of an organization that invested in excellent system infrastructure to manage its operations and provide information for physicians. The problem was that these same systems were not well integrated into a single view for physicians,” said Paul Brient, PatientKeeper president and CEO. “Oakwood is now implementing PatientKeeper technology as a layer on top of its existing systems in order to maximize its investments with physician adoption, truly satisfy its providers, and begin the process of connecting its healthcare community.”

About Oakwood Healthcare System
Oakwood Healthcare System, a regional health care network, is one of the most comprehensive health care delivery systems in southeastern Michigan. The Oakwood system serves residents over a 500-square-mile area and operates four acute care hospitals, several health centers and a vast number of specialty services, including four centers of excellence.

About PatientKeeper:
As an innovator, creator and leading supplier of integrated physician information systems, PatientKeeper's applications provide a single point of anytime, anywhere access to clinical and financial data from multiple, disparate systems. PatientKeeper's technology automates the provider’s day to transform their experience and improve satisfaction. For more information, visit http://www.patientkeeper.com.

Source: PatientKeeper