On Tuesday, Saint Joseph Mercy Saline Hospital will implement a new electronic information system specifically designed to fully automate the hospital's emergency department (ED). The system is HEALTHMATICS ED, a paperless, electronic system developed by A4 Health Systems of Cary, N.C.

One of the most important features of the new system is its ability to improve the efficiency of the care delivery process in four significant ways. Doctors, nurses and other caregivers will be able to simultaneously access patients' care information on multiple computer terminals. This is a major improvement because it will allow a physician to place an order at one computer terminal while a pharmacist collects the medication order, radiology begins processing an ultrasound order and a nursing supervisor can begin the process to assign a hospital room for admission - all at the same time.

"This simultaneous care delivery is possible because the new system eliminates the paper shuffle," says George Williams, M.D., Medical Director of the Emergency Department at Saint Joseph Mercy Saline Hospital (SJMSH). "In the past, a patient would have one chart that the emergency department staff would pass around to one another. Now it's a matter of clicking a computer keyboard to get the needed information — all at the same time."

Second, the system has the ability to further reduce potential medical errors. All orders and care plans are entered on a computer, eliminating hand-written orders, one of the leading causes of medication errors.

A third feature of efficiency is the elimination of repetitive questioning. Patients who have previously visited the emergency department at SJMSH can easily have their medical history be reviewed and updated if needed.

Fourth, the system's "tracking board" feature will give ED staff a simple visual view of what needs to happen next for a specific patient, as well as an overall view of the department status. As things change quickly in the ED, staff can assess where resources need to be shifted to improve overall flow through the department.

"The benefits of this system are endless," says Stacey Breedveld, Executive Director, SJMSH. "It will be easier for the caregivers in the emergency department to readily access patient care information and expedite treatment, it will be easier for the patients' primary care physicians to receive information on the care their patients received in the ED and it will provide caregivers ‘best practice’ for a variety of conditions."

Another benefit is the emergency departments of all three hospitals of Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (Saint Joseph Mercy Saline Hospital, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital-Ann Arbor and Saint Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital) will be on the same system. A patient could seek treatment at the Saint Joseph Mercy Saline Hospital emergency department and ten months later come to the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor emergency department. The staff will have access to the records from the previous emergency visit at SJMSH.

Although the cost of the new paperless system is approximately $1.7 million for all three hospitals, the clinical staff feels it is well worth it.

"We have always been dedicated to providing our patients with remarkable care," Williams said. "Therefore, we chose HEALTHMATICS ED system because it will improve our patients' experience through increased efficiency and decreased throughput times. The system is another opportunity to further reduce potential medical errors."