Hospice by the Sea, Inc. (HBTS) was awarded a $40,000 grant from Health Foundation of South Florida to help implement an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system for use by field staff serving patients in Broward County.
The grant will help fund the replacement and upgrade of the network infrastructure necessary to support the EMR system, which will include key features like electronic charting, electronic prescriptions and computerized physician order entries. These capabilities will enable field staff to instantly record crucial patient information and physician orders online, rather than writing the information on paper as is traditionally done. The EMR system will be used for all Broward County patients receiving HBTS services, including hospice care, palliative care, home health services, bereavement services and caregiver support.
Before implementation can begin, HBTS must replace its existing network infrastructure and firewall/VPN systems. Critical infrastructure enhancements also include expanding Internet bandwidth to support over 100 initial users and implementing a two-factor authentication system to positively identify authorized users.
HBTS is developing its new online reporting system to comply with a recent ruling by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that all healthcare providers transition to EMR systems by 2013. The goal is to increase the quality, safety and efficiency of information pertaining to patient health. Hospice by the Sea’s EMR system is scheduled to go live in the fall of 2010.
“We are grateful to Health Foundation of South Florida for this grant, which will enable us to complete our portfolio of infrastructure projects supporting the EMR implementation. These projects are vital to the overall success of this complex initiative,” said Director of Information Technology Blenda Shipp, who will spearhead HBTS’s infrastructure improvements.
Added Hospice by the Sea President and CEO, Paula J. Alderson, “As an organization committed to providing the highest quality of care to patients and families, we know how vital it is to capture and record healthcare information as accurately and time-effectively as possible. We sincerely thank Health Foundation of South Florida for their generous grant, which will help us helps lay the groundwork for implementing a state-of-the-art EMR system.”
