In its quest to continually improve the quality and safety of care provided to patients, BJC HealthCare, including Barnes-Jewish Hospital, is developing a core clinical solution to provide enhanced access to patient information for physicians, nurses and other clinicians.
The integrated database, called Epic, will include inpatients and outpatients in a single electronic medical record system that all caregivers within the hospital will be able to access.
What does this mean for patients?
- Fewer errors
- Real-time data on patients
- Better patient outcomes
Prior to Epic, a patient might come into Barnes-Jewish through the emergency department and then be admitted to the hospital. The nurse in the emergency department would document the reason(s) why the patient came in. Once admitted to the hospital, the nurse on the patient’s unit would have to re-enter the same documentation, which increased the chance for error and took additional time.
After a 12-month process that included surveys, demonstrations and site visits, Epic was chosen with the input of more than 500 members from BJC HealthCare and the Washington University Faculty Practice Plan. The build for Epic will be completed by the end of 2016 with a pilot program underway in 2017. Full rollout to Barnes-Jewish and other hospitals within BJC HealthCare will occur in 2018.