By: Camille D. Basilio, Department Manager, Business Process Management, Quality Management Division
In line with the implementation of the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Project, Makati Medical Center’s Emergency Department (ED) began its migration from paper records to digital patient records on November 11, 2016.
The EMR Project was launched last May in partnership with Indra, the EMR software provider. The EMR application of Indra is a web-based system built on top of its Integrated Hospital Information Management System (iHIMS), which is MakatiMed’s integrated system to manage patient administrative services, and is designed to provide a working environment wheredoctors and nurses can view, create, and manage patient medical records.
EMR aims to support and improve the management of patients aided by the latest technology.
The roll-out at the Emergency Department is the first of the four phases of the EMR implementation. Medical Director and former Emergency Department Chairman Johnny B. Sinon, MD, extended his congratulations to the Emergency Department staff: “MakatiMed wanted to start implementing EMR in ED. They believed our department was the best place to start as it is a mix of outpatient and inpatient services. We proved them right. Congratulations, everyone!”
Improvements, such as setting up of a pre-registration counter prior to triage, a transition from paper forms and records such as History and Physical Examination Form, Physician Order Sheets, Progress Notes, Nursing Assessment and Monitoring Forms, Discharge Summaries, and Medical Abstracts, were implemented to complement the shift to EMR.
“Doctors in the Emergency Department, both consultants and residents, and even the interns, were proactive. Possible issues were already addressed prior to going live,” said Artemio Cabrera Salvador, MD, the lead EMR project consultant for the Emergency Medicine Module.
To prepare the end-users of the system, several batches of ED doctors and nurses went through a rigorous three-day training from October 28 to November 8, 2016. An end-to-end testing was also conducted to catch possible system-, process- and user-related challenges, or failure modes.
Cyrine O. Sarmiento, RN, the ED Operations Manager stressed the importance of the preparations for EMR. “From the start of this year, the ED team has already been talking about EMR – what it is all about, who is doing what and what if this happened.”
Christine A. Donnelly, MSN, MA, RN, Nursing & Patient Care Services Division Head, lauded the successful launch. “EMR is definitely a milestone for our institution, as this will promote an even more seamless workflow for our doctors and nurses, and a higher level of healthcare service for our patients. This further elevates MakatiMed’s position in the global arena,” she said.
“With EMR, the doctors and the nurses can give the best possible care, at the point of care. This can lead to better patient experience and, most importantly, better patient outcomes,” added Grace C. Maranan, RN, Nurse Department Manager of the ED.
On the day of the roll-out, all the medical records of patients registered from 7:00 AM onwards were already recorded electronically using the new system. “We have been constantly reminding ourselves that amid this development in our hospital system, we must never compromise patient needs,” said Mark Paul S. Castillo, MD, ED Chief Resident. “After all, before we were ‘tech geeks’, we were physicians first.”
Gabriel G. Gabriel, MD, ED Chairman, added, “The challenge for the doctors is to improve efficiency and to continue ensuring documentation completeness using the EMR, while still making personal connection with the patients.”
One of the ED consultants, Amado A. Flores III, MD, uses the EMR application installed in a Computer at Bedside (CAB) unit during the launch.
The team behind the EMR project were all smiles after the successful launch.
Nurses at the Emergency Department are now using the new system.
