St. Luke’s University Health Network went live with Epic clinical and revenue cycle systems in January and has already seen positive results, the network announced.
“Three months after go live, throughput, productivity and revenue has improved throughout the health system compared to pre-Epic baselines,” St. Luke’s said in a statement.
What’s more, executives said that the six-hospital system, based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, achieved the operational and organizational results just weeks after the new software was implemented -- including a 10 percent spike in patient capacity -- both on-time and within its projected budget.
Not every health system has managed a similar experience.
The United States Coast Guard, for instance, terminated a $14 million contract with Epic late last month, citing significant risks and concerns about the vendor’s ability to deliver a workable EHR in a reasonable time. And in March Charles Perry, MD quit as chief medical information officer of Queens and Elmhurst Hospital Centers in New York City, saying that the parent company, NYC Health + Hospitals, was jeopardizing patient safety to meet an April 1 deadline for implementing Epic, though H+HN CEO Ramanathan Raju has publicly stated that the system is taking all necessary precautions.
Moving forward, St. Luke’s leadership expects the EHR will make it easier for clinicians to access patient records and, in turn, improve records portability.
St. Luke’s COO Joel Fagerstrom pointed to the cross-departmental cooperation among clinicians, staff and management as critical to the project’s success.
“St. Luke’s made it our mission to engage, inform and empower every employee to learn about Epic,” Fagerstrom said. “We are faster, more efficient and better than we’ve ever been.”
Next up? Rolling out Epic Ambulatory to more than 200 St. Luke’s outpatient sites beginning this spring with a slate completion date of January 2018.
Twitter: @Bernie_HITN
Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com
