PRISM: Fletcher Allen's Electronic Health Record
At Fletcher Allen we are committed to providing our patients with the highest level of care from dedicated, compassionate professionals, who are supported by state-of-the-art technology and leading-edge research. In keeping with this commitment, we are pleased to be implementing an advanced electronic health record system to enhance the patient care experience.
The development of an electronic health record is a critical, clinical process that will help Fletcher Allen improve quality and enhance safety while protecting the security and confidentiality of our patients’ health information.
According to a nationwide hospital survey published in the March 2009 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, only 10.9% of U.S. hospitals have implemented a basic Electronic Health Record, and only 1.5% have implemented a comprehensive Electronic Health Record like PRISM. Fletcher Allen is pleased to bring you the benefits of this leading edge health technology.
PRISM has been “live” in our inpatient areas, Emergency department, Walk-In Care Center since early June, 2009.
What is PRISM (Patient Record and Information Systems Management)?In April 2008, Fletcher Allen received state approval through the Certificate of Need process to begin a three-year phased implementation of an electronic health record system, called PRISM, which will connect virtually every key function in the organization. When completed, PRISM will be an institution-wide system that will allow patients’ clinical information to be electronically stored, updated and accessed instantaneously throughout Fletcher Allen, largely replacing the paper medical record in use today.
The PRISM project will serve all of Fletcher Allen’s more than 30 facilities in Vermont, including the approximately 750 physicians who are credentialed at Fletcher Allen – nearly one-half of the physicians practicing in Vermont. PRISM will be compatible with other health records systems in the state, making it a critical element in the statewide, integrated, electronic health infrastructure being coordinated through Vermont Information Technology Leaders (VITL), a public-private partnership designated by the Vermont legislature to lead this effort in 2007.
What are the benefits of PRISM to me as a care provider?- One Patient, One Record – Maintaining one record for each patient, from registration to care to billing, improves organizational efficiency and enhances the care experience by allowing all members of a patient’s care team to access a that patient’s electronic health record simultaneously, facilitating seamless, high quality care and treatment.
- Enhanced Patient Safety and Quality of Care – Automatic checks in the electronic system will safeguard against undesirable medication and allergy interactions and incorrect dosage amounts, improving patient safety.
- Increased Efficiency and Accuracy – Using an electronic health record eliminates time consuming, potentially duplicative and error-prone paper recording of patient medical information, and legibility of treatment orders and other information entered into the medical system will be improved.
- Greater Integration – PRISM will seamlessly integrate electronic patient medical records across all Fletcher Allen sites to ensure referring providers have access to information about their patients under our care in a fast, comprehensive and consistent fashion.
- Leading Technology – Epic, the software vendor for PRISM, is the leading electronic health record vendor in the US and is utilized by such respected health care systems as Cleveland Clinic, Geisinger Health and Kaiser Permanente, among others.
Click here to view a short video introduced by Dr. Melinda Estes, CEO and President of Fletcher Allen, featuring a day-in-the-life look at patient care through PRISM.
- Phase One: This initial stage, completed in June 2009, implemented the electronic health record across the majority of the hospital’s inpatient areas, the emergency department, Walk-In Care Center and the pharmacy.
- Phase Two – This segment of the project features implementation of the electronic health record in our ambulatory (outpatient) clinics and oncology department, physician documentation templates, patient scheduling, the launch of a web site providing patient access to medical information and health education, called “My Chart,” and development of a data warehouse for reporting and analysis, to be completed by December 2010.