Sharp Rees-Stealy, of Sharp HealthCare, has selected the system to automate common tasks, such as capturing charges, placing lab orders, writing prescriptions and documenting patient visits, in the hope of reducing or eliminating the need for paper records.
Sharp Rees-Stealy physicians also expect to gain real-time access to clinical information and instant access to patient data from any location via a secure internet connection.
Donald C. Balfour, III, M.D., President and Medical Director of the Medical Group, hopes that it will help improve patient satisfaction: In the near future, vital information will be at the physician’s fingertips and allow our patients to be more personally involved in their care.
According to Bill Spooner, Sharp HealthCare’s Chief Information Officer, Sharp Rees-Stealy will integrate the TouchWorks EHR with the medical group’s existing IDX Flowcast revenue cycle management solution.
Rolling out the EHR with Sharp Rees-Stealy is the first step in an eventual system-wide implementation of TouchWorks in the physician office setting for Sharp HealthCare, said Spooner, who led Sharp’s selection team, which included physicians, administrators and nursing staff. Given the number of ways we deliver care and the multitude of locations in both the physician practice and hospital settings, we believe that the system we selected will perform very effectively in this complex environment.
