Community Hospital Grand Junction Selects Perioperative IT Solution from Surgical Information Systems

ATLANTA, Sept. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Surgical Information Systems (SIS), a leader in perioperative information systems, announced today that Community Hospital Grand Junction has selected the SIS Solution to replace its legacy perioperative system.  The SIS Solution will interface with the hospital's Meditech health information system and will be implemented in two facilities, including a newly constructed hospital and an outpatient surgery center.

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The current economic landscape is forcing many hospitals to advance cost control strategies in order to keep up financially, clinically, and from a regulatory perspective. Accounting for between 55 and 65 percent of a hospital's margin and 40 percent of a hospital's supply costs, many hospitals are turning to the perioperative department and healthcare IT to facilitate cost reduction and improved quality care in this critical space. Community's CEO, Chris Thomas, says that building their replacement facility around surgery is imperative for the hospital's overall success.

"Surgery is the backbone and economic center of any hospital and if it is not running well, the entire hospital suffers," said Thomas. "By creating a preeminent perioperative center with the SIS Solution driving efficient documentation and processes, we can generate substantial cost savings, support improved patient care, and position ourselves to improve and maintain the financial health of our entire facility."

The hospital's SIS implementation will include:

• Surgical scheduling including preadmission testing, supporting goals to reduce day of surgery delays and cancellations
• Nursing documentation designed to streamline clinical workflows
• Role-based analytics for actionable reporting and a better understanding and managing of surgical operations
• Rules-based charging to help ensure reimbursements and eliminate missed charges and late penalties

SIS will work closely with its partner, Iatric Systems, Inc. (Boxford, MA), to provide optimal workflow between the SIS Solution and the hospital's Meditech health information system. Interoperability between the two systems will help improve efficiencies by minimizing data duplication and improving the accuracy of information.

"The SIS Solution will help us optimize our entire department with improved workflows, improved charge capture, and a robust analytics solution," said Annette Saylor, Director of Surgical Services. "Additionally, the access to actionable information will help us manage OR expenses and improve OR processes, which ultimately supports our efforts to provide better patient care."

"Surgery has always been important to hospitals because it's the department that incurs the most cost as well as the most serious medical errors.  Community Hospital's surgery-focused strategy will generate prosperity for their entire facility," said Ed Daihl, SIS Chief Executive Officer. "Their investment in the SIS Solution as the IT centerpiece in the OR will help them reduce costs, support care quality initiatives, and position them to combat the challenges that face hospitals today."

About Community Hospital Grand Junction System
Community Hospital is a full-service, acute-care hospital with a freestanding outpatient surgery center. Medical services include inpatient and outpatient surgery, 24/7 emergency and urgent care and comprehensive diagnostic services including laboratory in partnership with the Mayo Clinic as an exclusive reference laboratory and state-of-the-art imaging.

Community Hospital is accredited by both Joint Commission and American Osteopathic Association and in known for excelling in patient satisfaction. Community Hospital received the General Surgery Excellence Award™ for quality outcomes in general surgery from HealthGrades for 2012 placing us among the top 10% in the nation for general surgery.

Find out more information about us, visit: www.YourCommunityHospital.com.  

About SIS
Surgical Information Systems ("SIS") provides software solutions that are uniquely designed to add value at every point of the perioperative process. Developed specifically for the complex surgical environment, all SIS solutions – including anesthesia – are architected on a single database and integrate easily with other hospital systems. SIS offers the only surgical scheduling system and the only anesthesia information management system endorsed by the American Hospital Association (AHA), and analytics and rules-based charging products that have been granted Peer Reviewed status by the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). SIS is also the first AIMS provider to be designated as an AQI Preferred Vendor by the Anesthesia Quality Institute (AQI).

For more information, visit our website, www.SISFirst.com.

SOURCE Surgical Information Systems