September 26, 2007 - Health First, an integrated healthcare delivery system in Rockledge, FL, has achieved notably improved patient care outcomes using the Eclipsys Corp. Knowledge-Based Charting solution.
Health First's results include reduced duplicate documentation, improved interdisciplinary communication and increased patient safety through evidence-based care.
Comprised of three nonprofit hospitals - Cape Canaveral, Holmes Regional Medical Center and Palm Bay Community Hospital - Health First was named one of the "Most Wired Hospitals" the last three years. It implemented Eclipsys Knowledge-Based Charting to improve its level of safe, effective, patient-centric care.
"Eclipsys' executable clinical content that is embedded within the software and integrated into the clinical workflow provides every level of user a range of flexible content and tools designed to improve outcomes," said Diane Bradley, M.D., Eclipsys chief quality and outcomes officer. "The customizable Eclipsys rules engine continuously monitors the electronic medical record and alerts the appropriate clinicians to possible safety issues, enabling clinicians to receive actionable information without having to interrupt the workflow."
Health First collaborated with Eclipsys consultants to establish Partnership Councils - a series of interdepartmental unit-level groups - that were responsible for guiding the clinical transformation process and customizing a sub-set of guidelines appropriate for each specialty. With their assistance, the councils worked to drive a cultural change with the staff oriented around evidence-based individualized care plans, standardized practices, and multispecialty collaboration to ensure adoption across the entire organization.
Within one year, 2,800 clinicians at all three hospitals and ancillary departments, including pharmacy, transcription, ED, labs and radiology, were trained and had adopted the Eclipsys solution to document patient care across all departments. Since completing the implementation, Health First/Cape Canaveral Hospital has achieved numerous clinical and patient safety outcome improvements, including a reduction in patient fall rates by 92 percent a year after implementation. It also reduced pressure ulcer rate by 55 post-implementation.
"Eclipsys has been a great partner helping us transform our clinical practices and improve patient care across our entire organization," said Janice McCoy MSN, RN, CNAA, vice president, Patient Care Services and chief nursing officer at Cape Canaveral Hospital. "With Knowledge-Based Charting, our clinicians are now able to easily view all phases of patient care from a single place and can communicate with all other caregivers that touch the patient during their stay."
For more information: www.eclipsys.com