For several years the ambulatory footprint at Martin Memorial Health Systems has been growing rapidly. This growth can be attributed to an increase in the number of employed physicians, diagnostic centers, rehabilitation centers and fitness centers throughout the health system. The leadership team at Martin Memorial recognized the need to standardize the operations of these ambulatory sites in an effort to improve quality, reduce costs, and streamline operations.
By partnering with Allscripts, Martin Memorial hopes to accomplish its goals by transforming operations through the use of information technology. As such, Martin Memorial is currently implementing a new practice management and electronic medical record system in its outpatient facilities.
Qualitative Impact
Martin Memorial will enhance quality of care in its outpatient facilities by providing ubiquitous access to the electronic patient chart to caregivers and support personnel. Messy paper processes will be replaced with electronic equivalents where applicable. Where it is impossible to avoid the use of paper, imaging technology will be used to create a complete, secure, portable and accessible electronic record.
In addition to the electronic chart, other qualitative benefits include e-Prescribing, integrated diagnostic results and electronic referral management. Access will be dramatically improved as physicians will be able to look at patient records in their office, at the hospital, from home, or wherever Internet is available. Patients will be able to review their results online, where they can interact electronically with their physician and the office staff. Lastly, patients will have the security of knowing that their medical record can be accessed across the Internet when traveling should an emergency arise.
Financial Impact
Financially, Martin Memorial hopes to attain a positive return on investment of over $12 million through the first five years of operation of this new system from Allscripts. These returns will be realized through several means:
Transcription costs will be reduced by up to 90 percent over a five-year period.
The time required to manually file documents will be dramatically reduced through the use of document Imaging and the creation of electronic forms.
Improved documentation will result in more efficient coding and billing by assuring that the appropriate level of care is correctly documented in the chart to support the recommended CPT code.
Operational Impact
Workflow will be streamlined and standardized across multiple provider locations, making it easier to move support personnel as needed to fill vacancies, provide temporary relief and so forth. It will be much easier to bring up new operations through a standardized implementation methodology.
The time that it takes to bring up new operations will be significantly reduced through the use of standard templates that require only minor customization to fit the needs of specialists. Finally, functions that were once disparately housed in individual locations can now be consolidated, thus further integrating the Martin Memorial ambulatory presence.
A project of this scale with nearly 90 providers affected by the transition has required the cooperation and input of many different disciplines throughout the health system, including physicians, nurses, administrators, office managers and information technology. The implementation of the practice management portion of the system began in August and is expected to go live in January 2009. Work related to the electronic medical record portion of the project has already begun with the first locations expected to go live sometime during the latter part of March 2009.
For several years the ambulatory footprint at Martin Memorial Health Systems has been growing rapidly. This growth can be attributed to an increase in the number of employed physicians, diagnostic centers, rehabilitation centers and fitness centers throughout the health system. The leadership team at Martin Memorial recognized the need to standardize the operations of these ambulatory sites in an effort to improve quality, reduce costs, and streamline operations. 
