Physician Leadership, Dedication to I.T. Earn Greenwich Hospital Spot on Stage 6 List
(5/7/2009)

Over the course of the past few years, Greenwich Hospital's (Greenwich, CT) drive and efficient use of I.T. have led to numerous achievements—including Summit Award recognition from Press Ganey, as well as clinical improvements such as reduced bed turnover time. So, it is no surprise that Greenwich Hospital has also caught the attention of HIMSS Analytics, which recently honored the organization with its prestigious Stage 6 recognition.

Greenwich Hospital CIO Jim Weeks says that even before Greenwich had detailed knowledge of the various stages of the HIMSS Analytics EMR adoption model, the hospital had already been on a mission to improve patient care through the utilization of I.T. "We knew investing in I.T. was the right thing to do to improve the quality and safety of care given to our patients," he says. "We looked to our system to help us move away from illegible hand-written orders and miscommunication among the care teams."

Weeks also credits the leadership of CEO Frank Corvino, for driving positive change at Greenwich. "From the time Frank came to Greenwich, he set our hospital on a journey to have a fully-integrated HCIS, and to one day be recognized as one of the best hospitals in the country," Weeks says. "With all the success we've had, leading up to our recent Stage 6 achievement, I am ecstatic to be able to say we've fulfilled his goals."

Using Technology to Turn Around Care Delivery
One area Greenwich has been particularly excited about is the significant decrease in medication ordering/administration turnaround time since implementing MEDITECH's Provider Order Management, electronic Medication Administration Record (eMAR), and Bedside Verification.

"Prior to implementing these products, it took about an hour from the time the medication order was written by the physician to the time it was ready to be administered by the nurse," says Weeks. "With MEDITECH, we have significantly cut this turnover time down to eight minutes. As soon as the order is entered in the system, it is immediately sent to Pharmacy to be filled. In addition, since orders are placed on-line, we do not run into the issue of the Pharmacy paging the physician to clarify illegible handwriting."

Physician Leadership Secures CPOE Compliance
For Greenwich, clinical success has gone hand-in-hand with earning the support of its physician end users, especially when implementing Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE). Hospital leaders learned very quickly that in order for CPOE to be successful, they would be counting on the physician leadership to help spearhead the project, according to Applications Director Robert Castagnoli.

"The key to a successful implementation is to have people in the I.S. roles who know what their peers on the floor are going through, and specifically understanding how a new technology will impact processes and workflow," he says, adding that Greenwich physicians Adam Messenger, MD, medical information officer, and Dickerman Hollister Jr., M.D., F.A.C.P., have been very instrumental in working with the I.S. department to foster buy-in.

"By leading a weekly taskforce, Dr. Messenger and Dr. Hollister have been able to address any issues physicians may have with the hospital's CPOE solution," says Castagnoli. "Because of their dedication, Greenwich can now boast a significant increase in CPOE compliance over the past several months: from 40-50% near the end of 2008, up to 80% in January 2009."

Hospital Sets a Clear Pathway for Continued Success
With the physicians on-board—and of course given the hospital's recent boost from earning the Stage 6 recognition—Weeks cannot help but feel enthusiastic about the facility's future.

"We see 6.0 as our next step forward," he says. "This platform will strengthen our integration within the hospital, and also prepare us to meet the industry's evolving standards in care and interoperability."

MEDITECH
Medical Information Technology, Inc.
MEDITECH Circle
Westwood, MA 02090
781-821-3000
www.meditech.com