Mike Noble
Marketing & Communications
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BURLINGTON, VT - Fletcher Allen Health Care has submitted a Certificate of Need application (CON) to the Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration (BISHCA) to install an organization-wide clinical information system known as an electronic health record (EHR). The $57.2 million capital project will connect virtually every key function in the organization and is expected to take three years to implement.

"This is a transformational project for Fletcher Allen," said Melinda Estes, M.D., president and chief executive officer, Fletcher Allen Health Care.  "It will bring fundamental changes to our clinical processes that will enable the organization to achieve new levels of quality and patient safety.  Looking forward to 2010 and beyond, it will help position Fletcher Allen as a national model for the delivery of high-quality health care for a rural region."

"I am extremely pleased that Fletcher Allen is undertaking this important project," said Chris Dutton, chair, Fletcher Allen Board of Trustees. "I am also pleased that due to the hard work over the last three years to improve the organization's financial picture, Fletcher Allen is able to fund a project of this scope, which will be vital to fulfilling our mission of serving the community and educating tomorrow's providers."

Benefits of the electronic health record include a number of features to improve patient safety and quality of care:

• medical record information will be available to providers more quickly and in a consistent format
• the length of time between when a medication is ordered and when an inpatient receives it will be shortened
• automatic checks in the system will safeguard against undesirable medication interactions and incorrect dosage amounts
• legibility of treatment orders and other information entered into the medical record will be improved
• there will be more uniform treatment protocols throughout the organization to improve outcomes and quality of care
• improved organizational efficiency and cost effectiveness, particularly in patient registration and scheduling

Because Fletcher Allen is Vermont's academic medical center and its largest health care provider, the project will be a key element in the continued development of a statewide interoperable electronic health record that will eventually permit clinical information to be exchanged securely among all health care providers in this service area.

Completion of this project will represent a major step forward in Vermont's health information technology system. It will conform to the State's Health Information Technology Plan, prepared by Vermont Information Technology Leaders (VITL), and the IT recommendations in the state's Health Resource Allocation Plan (HRAP) prepared by BISHCA.

The 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 - approximately one-half of the physicians practicing in Vermont.

Vendor Selected

Fletcher Allen has selected Epic, a Wisconsin-based health care software firm, as the primary vendor to supply specialized software and implementation services for the project.  Epic has a wide range of experience in implementing the EHR projects at academic medical centers and coincidentally was the lowest bidder. The company was selected after a 24-week process led by an Electronic Health Record Steering Committee composed of 22-members of the organization representing a wide cross-section of medical disciplines and support functions.

The inclusive selection process involved approximately 3,000 staff.  A field of five vendors, who responded to a request for proposals, was trimmed down to three semifinalists, who conducted on-site demonstrations attended by approximately 1,500 staff members.  Site visits by members of the steering committee to the headquarters of the two finalists and to medical centers where comparable product installations were complete were part of the process that led to making the final vendor selection.  The committee's unanimous choice was approved by the Board of Trustees at its September 11 meeting.

Timeline

Work to implement the EHR can only begin with BISHCA's approval, which Fletcher Allen hopes will be completed by the end of the year.  Fletcher Allen's work on the project is expected to take three years and will include three phases.  Phase one will focus on replacing many existing clinical systems and implementation of the inpatient portion of the electronic health record.  This is expected to take 18 months.  Phase two will start during the second half of Phase One. It will focus on additional inpatient functions and the development of a data warehouse, which will allow information to be recalled in various ways for reports and analysis. Phase three will focus on the outpatient portion of Fletcher Allen's activities, primarily the ambulatory care EHR, patient scheduling and a system feature that allows patients access to much of their medical information.  Phase three is expected to be completed in the fall of 2010.

About Fletcher Allen

Fletcher Allen Health Care, together with our partners at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, is Vermont's academic medical center.  Our mission is to improve the health of the people in the communities we serve by integrating patient care, education and research in a caring environment.  Fletcher Allen serves as a regional referral center -- providing advanced care to approximately one million people in Vermont and northern New York -- and as a community hospital for approximately 150,000 residents in Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties.  With more than 30 patient care sites and 100 outreach clinics, programs and services throughout the region, Fletcher Allen is committed to being a national model for the delivery of high-quality academic health care for a rural region.