NYC Health + Hospitals Adopts New Electronic Health Record System at 19 Additional Facilities, Bringing the Total Number to 50 Patient Care Locations
New System will help clinicians provide safe, efficient care; offer patients easy access to their records through a secure patient portal; and, maximize revenue collection This is a critical step in the health system's transformation and NYC's plan to guarantee health coverage to all New Yorkers
Apr 16, 2019
NYC Health + Hospitals, the nation’s largest public health care system, today announced that 19 additional patient care locations successfully went live with the new Epic electronic medical records (EMR) system earlier this month, bringing the total number of public hospitals and health centers using the advanced technology to 50 patient care locations with more than 19,000 users system-wide. The additional health care facilities that went live includes NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and 17 Gotham Health ambulatory care sites. The new technology, which has been named H2O (Health + Hospitals Online) by the health system, connects the hospitals, emergency rooms, primary and specialty outpatient services, and the health system’s home care agency into one unified medical records and finance information system to help clinicians deliver safe, efficient care, and allows patients easy access to their records through a secure patient portal called MyChart. The new EMR furthers NYC Health + Hospitals’ transformation and commitment to guarantee health coverage to all New Yorkers.
With MyChart, NYC Health + Hospitals patients can manage their health online.
“This is the technology foundation that supports our key transformation initiatives to advance quality of care, provide a better patient experience, and achieve financial health for our essential system. We have successfully reached beyond the half-way point in what’s considered one of the largest EMR implementation projects in the country. By 2020, we will have more than 45,000 users unified under a single, shared platform to make it easier for our clinicians to deliver great care and support the city’s commitment to guarantee health coverage to all New Yorkers,” said Mitchell Katz, MD, NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO.
“After months of designing, building, testing, training and preparation, we had a smooth go live event, which was on budget and on time at two large acute care hospitals and trauma centers, and in 17 community based health centers and clinics. This is a significant milestone in this massive enterprise-wide project and a tremendous testament to the dedicated clinical teams and IT professionals who have worked together seamlessly to support their shared vision for excellent patient care for the more than one million New Yorkers who rely on our services every year,” said Kevin Lynch, NYC Health + Hospitals Chief Information Officer.
“Today, NYC Health + Hospitals is a safer and more efficient health system. We are positioned to leverage the best practices of the nation’s leading health system in service to our patients,” said Dr. Michael Bouton, Emergency Medicine Physician and Chief Medical Information Officer, NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem.
“The H2O system supports safe transitions of care, improves workflow and has an enhanced ability for data collection to get better feedback to providers about their patients and clinical practice. By being a more facile system, it’s going to allow us more time with our patients, and a safer, higher quality of care,” said Verity Schaye MD, MHPE, Director of Inpatient Medicine, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue.
“Electronic medical records are key to coordinating care throughout a system as large and diverse as Health + Hospitals,” said Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard N. Gottfried. “This system will help ensure effective care coordination from emergency departments and connect patients with primary care providers within H+H and community-based providers.”
The adoption of the best in class, robust electronic medical record is a vital part of the public health system’s comprehensive, multi-year redesign to build a competitive, sustainable organization that will continue to offer high-quality and accessible health care to the people of New York City. In additional to improving patient care, the new H2O system will help improve billing and is expected to generate up to $142 million in added revenue annually.
The new electronic medical records technology features decision-support tools that send providers alerts to prevent medication errors, avoid duplicate or unnecessary tests and keep patients’ preventive health screenings on schedule. The system also includes new billing and coding technology to improve efficiency and ensure that Health + Hospitals is collecting the maximum amount of revenue for the services it delivers. The system-wide implementation of the new EMR is expected to be completed by 2020.
Featured Benefits and New Functionality of Epic EMR
- Gives Patients Easy Access to Personal Health Records – MyChart is the online portal that allows patients to use a computer, tablet, or smartphone, to find their test results, send messages to their care team, request prescription refills, and make/reschedule appointments.
- Improves Health Outcomes – An early alert system and real-time reports can help clinicians improve the identification of patients with sepsis, in both inpatient and emergency department settings. The electronic medical record system also supports the hospitals’ ability to prevent medical errors.
- Grows Revenue Collection – The new Epic revenue cycle management product is projected to help the health system capture an additional 5 percent of adjusted patient revenue—or up to $142 million in added revenue annually.
The next three phases of the H2O implementation are scheduled for late summer through Spring of 2020, with five more acute care hospitals, one long term acute care center, and 15 additional community-based ambulatory care clinics will go live with the new technology system. Health + Hospitals is investing approximately $1 billion to adopt the new EMR and revenue cycle system-wide by 2020.
The Epic suite of health care IT products is recognized as “best in KLAS” by an independent organization that monitors IT developments. The combined, integrated electronic medical record and revenue cycle products are used by some of the top health care systems across the country, including Kaiser Permanente, NYU, University of Miami, UCLA, Partners Health Care, and Sutter Health.