Under the agreement, Vanguard hospitals in Phoenix, Chicago and San Antonio will focus on using health IT to standardize and enhance the effectiveness of business office processes as well as clinical care and patient safety.
Vanguard also expects to use health IT to optimize the quality and performance in specific departments such as emergency rooms, laboratories, radiology units and pharmacies.
According to McKesson, once its technology is implemented, nurses in Vanguard hospitals will be able to administer patient medications assisted by handheld devices to scan medication bar codes at the bedside, ensuring patients receive the right medications at the right time.
It will also relieve physicians of laborious paper-based tasks by enabling them to electronically record and review patient information at the point of care. McKesson says center staff will be able to share information across departments or facilities and will receive instant alerts on mobile devices if patient indicators do not meet baseline parameters.
McKesson also said Vanguard physicians can also expect to enjoy anytime, anywhere access to clinical information, medical histories, reports, document images, lab results and pharmacy orders.
