Research and Projects: AHRQ THQIT and SRD Portfolio

California

Tulare District Hospital Rural Health EMR Consortium

Description:  Builds on an existing infrastructure to construct a fully integrated EMR to give clinicians real-time access to patient data through pharmacy management, laboratory management, patient scheduling, barcoding, clinical physician order entry, electronic signature, insurance eligibility, and Pyxis medication-dispensing units at nursing stations.

Abstract:  DESCRIPTION (provided by the applicant): Tulare Local Healthcare District (Tulare District Hospital, TDH) has been providing quality health care to the community of Tulare and surrounding rural areas of Tulare County for 53 years. The hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). The hospital is in a primary care health profession area (HPSA) and serves a medically underserved population (MUP). TDH is the only hospital in the city and is in the service area of a federally qualified health center, and Tulare County Health and Human Service's FQHC Look-Alike Clinic. Partners in this grant application are: Healthcare Management Systems, Inc.; Hillman Health Center (Tulare County Health and Human Services' federally qualified health center Look-Alike); Tulare Community Health Clinic, Inc. (federally qualified health clinic); a consortium of local physicians; and the University of California, San Francisco. The project utilizes the following application modules: Pharmacy management, Spanish Education Sheet for pharmacy, e-MAR (electronic medication administration reporting), Pyxis medication dispensing unit in emergency room, scanning application, laboratory management, patient scheduling, operating room management, barcoding, patient care documentation, clinical view, clinical physician order entry (CPOE), electronic signature, insurance eligibility, executive information systems, and Pyxis medication-dispensing units at all nursing stations. The basic project parameters include: basic system setup, development of master file and control records, training and testing, and on-site "live" support. The long-term outcome goal of the proposed implementation project is to reduce medical errors and improve overall patient safety by decreasing the actual number medication errors, and by implementing electronic access to "real time" patient data. At the end of the three-year project, TDH will have a fully integrated electronic medical record (EMR).

Year 1 Funding:  $500,000

Estimated Total Funding:  $1.5 million

Principal Investigator:  Paul Galloway

Applicant Institution:  Healthcare Management Systems

City/Town:  Tulare, California

State:  California

Grant Number:  UC1 HS15096

Category:  Implementation Grants (THQIT)

Thesaurus Terms:  automated medical record system, rural health, cooperative study, medical record, patient safety /medical error, time resolved data, data management

Project Start Date:  Sep 30, 2004

Project End Date:  Sep 29, 2007