HEALTH SCENE is published as a community service for the friends and patrons of CMH REGIONAL
HEALTH SYSTEM, 610 W. Main St., Wilmington, OH 45177, telephone 937-382-9606, website
www.cmhregional.com.
Dr. Michael Choo
President and CEO
Information in HEALTH SCENE comes from a wide range of medical experts. If you have any concerns or
questions about specifc content that may affect your health, please contact your health care provider.
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Copyright © 2011 Coffey Communications, Inc.
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Dana Dunn
Editor
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WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION
of new informa-
tion technology and a comprehensive electronic health
record, CMH will join a small but growing percentage of
hospitals nationwide that have progressed to an advanced
level of technology in the interest of safety and efciency.
CMH Regional Health System is undertaking these new
processes in collaboration with Healthcare Management
Systems Inc. (HMS) of Nashville, Tenn.
With the new technology, the clinical staf will have
immediate access to necessary patient information. Phy-
sicians will be able to enter patient orders electronically.
CMH GOES
DIGITAL
Electronic health records
are safer and more convenient
TRISTATE HOSPITALS,
including
CMH Regional Health System and Clin-
ton Memorial Hospital, have a strong
history of working together, and a new
initiative led by the Greater Cincin-
nati Health Council (GCHC) aims to
take those collaborative eforts to new
heights.
In November 2010, the GCHC
launched Accountable Care Transfor-
mation Leadership (ACT), an initiative
that strives to measurably improve pa-
tient safety and quality of care through
hospitals’ shared eforts.
During its recent annual meeting, the
council recognized CMH for its role in
the initiative. Representing CMH were
President and Chief Executive Ofcer
Dr. Michael Choo and Director of Per-
formance Improvement Amy Donaldson.
“We are on board for any initiative
that focuses on quality care and safety for our patients,”
Dr. Choo says. “One of the council’s core guiding principles
is to never compete on quality improvement.”
Tis collaborative approach is gaining national rec-
ognition, according to Colleen O’Toole, president of the
council.
“Te Health Council is pleased to recognize the ACT
leaders for moving our organization and the hospital
community toward continued measurable improvements
in patient safety and quality,” O’Toole says.
Trough this efort, competing hospitals have joined
in a noncompetitive manner to share information and
best practices.
“Accountability amongst hospitals is really the
Competing hospitals have joined in
a noncompetitive manner to share
information and best practices.
“Tis signifcant upgrade to the
technology we use to operate our health system is a very
exciting step for CMH as we continue to take every op-
portunity to improve patient care,” says Dr. Michael Choo,
president and chief executive ofcer of CMH. “HMS will
be an excellent partner for us, and we look forward to
working with our medical staf and employees to make
this process successful for CMH, our patients and the
community.”
A WORK IN PROGRESS
Te process of implementing
the new hospital system started in July and will take
several months. Physicians and staf will receive extensive
training before the system goes live.
“We are thrilled to get this process under way,” Dr. Choo
says. “HMS is the clear industry leader in information
technology for community hospitals. Tey came very
highly recommended to us, and we are very confdent
they understand our hospital and our mission.”
“CMH is a terrifc example of a health system with
leaders who have a clear vision of the benefts for patients
that come from optimal use of information technology,”
says Tom Stephenson, chief executive ofcer of HMS. “We
are very pleased to work with them.”
To learn more about the electronic health record
technology, visit www.hmstn.com.
PARTNERING UP FOR PATIENT SAFETY
foundation of this efort,” says Dr. Robert
Wones, co-chair of ACT and vice president
of medical afairs and chief quality ofcer
of UC Health. “We’re striving for hospitals
to agree on measurable standards, report
their results and successes, and then make
a commitment to further improve their
results.”
With ACT, hospitals are making a com-
mitment to patients to set new standards
and improve the quality patient care,
particularly in these areas:
●
Improving
transitions in care.
●
Reducing readmis-
sions.
●
Reducing disparities in care.
“While patient care happens in the
hospital setting, much of what impacts the
patient actually happens in a setting out-
side the hospital,” says Dr. Georges Feghali,
ACT co-chair and senior vice president of
quality and chief medical ofcer at Tri-
Health. “We recognize the need to work
with physicians on this common goal of improving not
only the care that a patient receives when he or she is at
the hospital, but also the care that is provided when the
patient transitions back into the community.”
ACT participants have several cooperative goals
to achieve during the coming year, notably to reduce
all-cause heart failure readmission rates for adults 18
and older by 10 percent by January 2012. In addition to
CMH, there are 11 other health systems and hospitals
participating.
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