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Connecting Healthcare in Central Appalachia

Project Final Report (PDF, 347.31 KB) Disclaimer

Project Details -
Completed

Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Inc., is an integrated rural health care delivery system serving approximately 20 counties throughout eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia. With hospitals, clinics, home health agencies, and home care stores, the rural location and wide range of services offered by this system require an intense focus on building connectivity via technology. With this project, the various facilities that make up the ARM system launched the implementation of a major component of its clinical information initiative. The implementation of the initial stages of electronic medical records increased the timeliness and accuracy of care provided to patients, improved workflow throughout the system and across the continuum of care, and ultimately, improved the overall quality of care provided to patients. The rollout of ARH's electronic medical records began in the system's Whitesburg ARM Hospital and Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center locations. The project funding provided essential hardware components to initiate the kick-off, training for project core team members and hospital medical records staff, and the personnel costs associated with the adaptation of the electronic medical records system to accommodate ARH's needs and the standardization of forms to complement the system.