Galen Healthcare Solutions: Allscripts Consultants Enterprise EHR

As Allscripts Enterprise EHR v11 implementations continue across the country, many have found added value in the new functionality and enhancements. New features such as the clinical desktop, simplified navigation and right-click menus make Enterprise v11 easier for users at all points of patient care and conducive to greater utility. With clients ranging from small independent practices to massive health systems, the deployments are as diverse as the users logging in each day.

Over the past few months, I have had the privilege to be on a team of professionals that is genuinely navigating and building out v11’s newest functionality. St.Vincent Health (an Ascension Health ministry) , headquartered in Indianapolis, has been in the process of deploying v10 at the St.Vincent Physician Network since 2005 and in 2007, was awarded one of the first Allscripts Client Success Connect awards for their innovative interface development. Key accomplishments that have established their role as a leader in the area of integration are their interfaces with:

1. St. Vincent Health’s inpatient facilities,
2. Children and Hoosier’s Immunization Registry Program (CHIRP) which enables access to centralized pediatric immunization records,
3. Surescripts,
4. Transmitting Lab Orders, and
5. Accepting Laboratory and Radiology results from multiple vendors.

I will feature more about these in a future entry. For almost a year, St. Vincent has been looking to initiate their v11 upgrade, then following their final v10 rollout in February, redirected all efforts to v11 design, build and change management.

Directed by Margie Cornwell (RT, RDMS, PMP), a veteran of the Enterprise EHR project, most of the team was sent to Enterprise EHR training in March and since then, dove headlong into its full-fledged deployment. About 6 weeks from go-live, the build activity workbook is complete, the broad training strategy is in motion, and testing is underway. Then when 11.1.6 was released, St. Vincent Health displayed their versatility and decided to proceed with the upgrade in stride, while sustaining the original go-live date. From the beginning, the schedule has been remarkably rapid, but by maintaining positive attitudes, team-focus, and a willingness to go the extra mile, the team remains on task.

As a member of this team, my efforts have been focused on bridging the v10 order and results data into v11’s structure as well as preparing the items for mapping to the Order Concept Dictionary. Gaining this insight has given me a great chance to explore the benefits and value of Careguides and the improved Health Management Plans from both an application and administrative perspective. The St.Vincent Health resources have essentially been responsible for their own destiny; supplemented by a diligent Allscripts upgrade team and a couple of other external experts.

Contributing to St. Vincent’s ongoing success is their support methodology. During a go-live, the Enterprise EHR team members are physically on-site. Having these diverse skills and backgrounds is very beneficial to the various users and troubleshooting required. As is common, the team members range from clinicians to IT, but St. Vincent makes a special point to assure all are available for rapid response.

The perpetual willingness to embrace the cutting edge demonstrated by St. Vincent Health  has resulted in their being one of the first to stretch Enterprise EHR v11.1.6 to these limits and the chance to be a part of this talented team is enviable.

Tags: Allscripts Enterprise EHR, St. Vincent Health, v11