Otto Kaiser Memorial Hospital Turns to Prognosis ChartAccess® Comprehensive EHR to Meet Organizational Aspirations

HOUSTON, May 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Otto Kaiser Memorial Hospital is swapping out its existing electronic health records system in favor of ChartAccess® Comprehensive EHR from Prognosis Health Information Systems. The move is expected to help the 25-bed hospital comply with the federal government's meaningful use requirements and participate in a quickly growing rural regional health information organization (RHIO).

"We're known as the 'biggest' small hospital in Texas. We're technologically advanced and have a huge patient volume. So, we needed to work with a system and vendor that would think big. We feel that Prognosis will truly partner with us to move forward and improve the quality of care and achieve the best outcomes for our patients," says Nathan Tudor, CEO at Otto Kaiser.

The Kenedy, Texas-based hospital is planning to begin system implementation in May and then work toward meeting the meaningful use requirements associated with earning incentive funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) by October.  Because the system is easy to use and can be customized to meet the needs of clinicians, the hospital's clinicians are expected to quickly adopt the technology and optimize its utilization to meet the incentive requirements and advance the hospital's quality agenda.

"We have a lot of talented clinicians and staff members here. The Prognosis EHR will help them improve care and operations even more as we solidify our reputation as a premiere, model rural healthcare provider and become a beta site that will illustrate to other rural hospitals how to effectively use technology to improve overall care," Tudor says.

Otto Kaiser also is leveraging the technology to join a growing Texas RHIO. Under this innovative connectivity model, all participating hospitals dial into one centralized solution remotely, making it much easier to get systems up and running. The ChartAccess EHR is integrated with billing, laboratory, pharmacy, radiology and other ancillary systems at the various hospitals, which allows it to serve as a data repository for all clinical information. As a result, the solution provides a seamless continuum of care for patients, not just as they receive services at Otto Kaiser but as they receive care across the entire region.

ChartAccess is a shared web-native EHR system, delivered via a "cloud computing" model, where the software applications are made available as a service over an encrypted health information network. The EHR provides clinicians with a complete view of patient data to support optimal and safe clinical care. Users can simply access the system by using a standard operating system and a secure browser.

One of the first two Complete EHRs to receive ONC-ATCB-2011-2012 certification, ChartAccess is designed to quickly lead providers toward EHR success. Designed by clinicians for clinicians, the system makes it easy to overcome the cost, usability and workflow obstacles that commonly stand in the way of EHR implementation. In addition, the solution meets the mobility needs of end-users with features such as iPhone and iPad applications that make it possible to view patient rounding lists, process orders and access results at the point of care.

"Otto Kaiser is a provider that prides itself on staying way out in front of the curve and is likely to make the most of our advanced technology. Through our partnership with this leading rural healthcare organization, we expect to illustrate how electronic records technology can truly be leveraged for the greater good – from achieving meaningful use requirements to improving operations and ultimately enhancing clinical care and patient outcomes," says Ramsey Evans, CEO of Prognosis.

About Prognosis

Prognosis Health Information Systems, Inc., Houston, aims to improve the quality and safety of patient care through ChartAccess, a certified Comprehensive EHR. Designed to be fully operational in less than six months at a predictable, affordable cost, the solution enables hospitals to meet meaningful use and improve patient outcomes by leveraging built-in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) milestone and quality measure tracking functionality. PHIS uses 21st-Century technologies to offer small community hospitals a pure browser-based system that can run on-premise or in the cloud. For more information, go to www.prognosishis.com.

SOURCE Prognosis Health Information Systems, Inc.