Piedmont is extending the latest functionality in the hassle-free experience it offers to patients with the launch of Epic’s Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system to five of its newest hospitals: Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center, Piedmont Eastside Medical Center, Piedmont Eastside South Campus, Piedmont Macon Medical Center and Piedmont Macon North Hospital.
Those hospitals joined the Piedmont system on Aug. 1, 2021, and Piedmont has now converted them to its EMR. Piedmont has made the significant investment to provide high-quality, patient-focused care to these communities, with the most recent of these investments having a positive impact on patient’s ease of care. Epic stores patients’ health information from across the Piedmont system in one electronic medical chart, so each patient has only one comprehensive medical record in Epic, no matter which Piedmont hospital, doctor’s office or clinic he or she visits.
Piedmont patients and their designated caregivers can also use Piedmont MyChart, the system’s portal, for personalized and secure online access to their health information. Piedmont MyChart lets patients communicate with providers, schedule appointments and perform e-check prior to arrival, refill prescriptions, and more. It’s now also easier for patients to receive care with a Piedmont doctor or at Piedmont Urgent Care locations through online and on-the-go appointment booking and virtual on-demand video visits.
“We are pleased and excited to offer a new level of convenience to our patients for their health-care needs,” said Leigh Hamby, M.D., Piedmont’s chief medical officer. “Clinical staff throughout our system will now be able to pull up a patient’s medical history quickly and know about current medications, allergies and other essential patient information. That level of integration, transparency and communication is crucial to caring for our patients and helping them stay healthy.
“We’ve seen great engagement across the board, from our physicians and nurses to our scheduling and registration staff, throughout the implementation of this new system. That preparation paid off, and we thank everyone for their patience, as we worked to ensure our patients continue to receive the highest quality of care during our transition.”
The launch at these hospitals came following nearly nine months of preparation, training more than 1,700 clinicians and other hospital staff for the new system. To help with the launch, volunteers from other Piedmont hospitals who use Epic as part of their daily jobs provided at-the-elbow support the week leading up to the launch and on launch day.
In addition, quality measures such as Epic Rover uses barcodes to document patient medication administration at the bedside and Dragon Medical One allows providers to have real time speech recognition documentation in Epic.
“The convenience of Piedmont MyChart is a game-changer for our patients across our service area,” said Geoff Brown, Piedmont’s chief information officer. “They’ll be able to check on their latest test results and make online appointments as easily as they can check the weather on their phone. It gives our patients the tools they need to be active participants in their own wellness.”
Epic is the most widely-used and comprehensive health records system in the United States and provides a platform for integrated care and ensures patients have convenient digital access to their health information. Epic was rated Best in KLAS in 2022 for the twelfth consecutive year. Piedmont first began implementing Epic in some of its locations in 2012. A majority of U.S. News and World Report’s top-ranked hospitals and medical schools, including those in Georgia, are already using Epic, working collaboratively every day to improve patient care, innovate healthcare delivery and achieve financial health.
Nearly half of Georgia residents currently or will soon have a record in Epic when all planned installs are complete, and it’s estimated that more than 250 million people in the United States, nearly two-thirds of the population, have a current electronic record in Epic.
All organizations using Epic interoperate, which means that they can easily exchange patient data for improved patient care. Providers will have the ability to coordinate care with clinicians outside of Piedmont who serve their patients and their families, closing care gaps and reducing duplication.
“Using Epic means that providers will have access to a patient’s full story, whether they were seen here at one of these hospitals, another Piedmont location, or even at other providers in Georgia or across the world, regardless of which system they use,” said Katie Logan, Piedmont’s chief consumer and strategic planning officer. “Epic allows our clinical staff to coordinate care with clinicians outside of Piedmont to close care gaps and leverage automation for efficiencies such as appointment scheduling and e-prescription processes.”
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