Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital (MWPH), affiliated with the University of Maryland Medical System and Johns Hopkins Medicine, is a post-acute hospital that serves children with medically complex conditions. At MWPH, the importance of access to patient information from multiple facilities is well-understood. “We are a pediatric specialty hospital,” explains Tim Brady, Director of Information Systems, Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital. “All of our patients come to us from a referring facility. Access to the data that the referring facility provides is critical for us.”
The challenge was how to use their state health information exchange (HIE) effectively for patient care. While the Maryland HIE (called CRISP–Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients) provides a vast storehouse of patient information, finding that information was time consuming and impractical for busy doctors. Providers had to log into the HIE separately from the hospital EHR system. Then they had to search for the patient and make sure they had the right one. “Because accessing the HIE was outside of the provider’s normal workflow, our usage was very limited,” Tim says.
Simple and Automatic
MWPH now has a solution that provides seamless access to patient information from the HIE within the clinician’s normal workflow, without having to log-in separately, or search the HIE for information. The solution is based on iatricSystems™ FlexButton™ and was a joint collaboration between iatricSystems and the CRISP HIE. MWPH is one of 15 Maryland hospitals using it, which is increasing clinicians’ usage of HIE information and strengthening the value of the state HIE.
“FlexButton puts HIE information right in the physician’s workflow, which is very important,” observes Heather Dewan, Applications Manager at MWPH. “Using FlexButton, it’s much easier for doctors to get into the HIE, which means they’re more likely to use it.”
How It Works
The FlexButton solution automatically queries the HIE from the patient’s EHR record and alerts caregivers to new information about patient conditions, medications, tests, and other specified categories. When a physician opens the EHR record of a particular patient, a button in the EHR header turns red if new information about that patient is available in the HIE. Clinicians can then click to view alert summaries by category, and click once more for detailed information, without having to exit the EHR system or otherwise interrupt their workflow.
Faster, easier access to patient data helps clinicians during hospital admissions and inpatient encounters. “Physicians now have a more complete view of the patient,” Tim says. “They are able to make better care decisions because they have easy access to previous visits at other care facilities.”
Information Physicians Need–the Way They Need It
Using FlexButton, HIE information has become a routine part of patient care at MWPH, saving time, enabling safer, more informed decisions, and avoiding redundant tests and procedures. As Heather explains, “When there’s patient information in the HIE, it needs to be easy for providers to get to. This is the way to go.”