The blood pressure reading heard around the world
(New Glarus, WI) – Monroe Clinic hosted the first live Care Everywhere International record exchange at their New Glarus location on Monday, August 31. Representatives from Monroe Clinic and EPIC were present to usher in a new era of global medical records exchange, where results in Wisconsin immediately updated medical records in Canada and The Netherlands.
Monroe Clinic and EPIC Systems Corporation, a leading electronic medical record software company, have worked together for over a decade to build a truly integrated electronic medical record system. The impact of the technology has been far-reaching, offering popular services like MyChart®, which allows patients and caregivers access to healthcare on their desktop or smartphone.
“Building on the benefits of MyChart, Care Everywhere International is the newest feature of electronic medical records. It makes our patients’ charts available wherever they go, be it across town, across the country and now across oceans,” said Carrie Blum, Monroe Clinic Chief Information Officer.
The Care Everywhere Journey
In 2012, Monroe Clinic launched Care Everywhere and over the past three years, they have exchanged records in 33 states with 63 other organizations. Since January, 64,045 medical charts have instantly traveled from city to city and coast to coast.
“The information is more than a few paragraphs summarizing a patient’s health status―it’s specific, secure, detailed and comprehensive. Medication lists, x-ray reports, doctor visit summaries and test results come together in one user-friendly file, meaning caregivers can consider a patient’s full medical background, even if they just met,” said Blum.
“Monroe Clinic’s patients can have peace of mind as they travel to other countries, knowing if they need to seek care thousands of miles away from home, their doctor can be quickly and completely informed of their medical history,” said Bruce Duemler, MD, Monroe Clinic.
EPIC is also working with hospitals in Canada, The Netherlands, Singapore, Australia, and United Arab Emirates to integrate their electronic medical record software. Upon the patient’s request, the information is instantly transmitted in a format allowing any caregiver access to crucial information, so they can offer informed medical care.
Monroe Clinic
Monroe Clinic is a not-for-profit, single hospital health system serving communities in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Sponsored by the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, the system includes a multi-specialty physician practice with 119 employed providers, 11 clinic locations, a 24-hour emergency department, a home care and hospice agency, a retail health clinic and primary care sites offering preventive, acute and rehabilitative care.
In 2014 Monroe Clinic provided $17.3 million or approximately 10 percent of total net operating revenue, in unreimbursed services to benefit the communities we serve. Monroe Clinic earned five-star patient satisfaction rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for 2014, was named a Joint Commission “Top Performer” for 2013, and one of the 100 Top Hospitals® in the U.S. by Thomson Reuters in 2006 and 2008. The hospital building is certified LEED® Silver. For more information about Monroe Clinic, please visit monroeclinic.org.