Taking care of our resources

In the first days after the Epic electronic health record system was installed at Community Hospital, an emergency department doctor tested its promise of seamless connectivity with other health systems. “A man who had a heart transplant at Stanford came to our ED complaining of chest pain,” says Dr. John Ellison. “With the touch of a button, all of his results were right there. As I was talking on the phone with the doctor at Stanford who manages the patient’s care, we were both looking at the same results.”

Since Montage Health invested in Epic, about 2 million records have been shared among hospitals and care providers through the system’s Care Everywhere program, increasing collaboration and reducing duplication. “Care Everywhere is a good name for it because it facilitates care for those who see specialists everywhere,” Ellison says. “It makes our job easier; but more important, it provides the patients with better, more coordinated care.”