Quality Care Accomplishments Attract Industry-Wide Recognition for Cook Children's Health Care System
(10/16/2007)

Leading pediatric health care provider Cook Children's Health Care System (Fort Worth, TX) has been gaining increased attention throughout the industry for its quality accomplishments. Most recently, The Leapfrog Group has featured Cook Children's among its Top Hospitals rankings, and Health Imaging & IT has spotlighted the organization among its Top 25 Connected. What brought about all these accolades? According to Cook Children's CIO Matt Murray, M.D., integration through a core vendor is one of the most crucial elements of their plan to bring the highest quality care to the community.

"The integration of our PACS system with MEDITECH's Radiology and EMR is certainly one of the important factors that contributed to earning this recognition," says Dr. Murray. "The integration provides PACS images to 100% of our network physicians throughout all of our facilities, as well as remotely from their offices and homes."

Add Howard Messing, president and COO at MEDITECH, to the growing list of Cook Children's admirers. "We are very happy to congratulate Cook Children's for the recent recognition they have received from Health Imaging & IT and from The Leapfrog Group," he says. "Their utilization of I.T. in the care setting enables the organization to deliver the highest standards in patient care. We are quite pleased to partner with Cook Children's, as they continue expanding their integrated solutions."

Health Imaging & IT Commends Cook Children's Integrated Solution
One of Cook Children's distinctions was making Health Imaging & IT's Top 25 Connected list, recognizing health care organizations which have created a seamless path for incoming and outgoing patient information, specifically focusing on the integration of patient records and imaging systems. Cook Children's Radiology and I.T. departments chose to apply for this award based on their commitment to making images available throughout their organization, according to Brian Fox, director of radiology services. "We are all absolutely thrilled by our progress in this area, so it is exceptionally rewarding to earn recognition for our achievements," he says.

The physicians at Cook Children's are equally enthusiastic about the software solution. "The integration of MEDITECH's EMR with PACS was extremely well received by the clinicians at our organization, and it has made a positive impact on staff workflow," says Dr. Murray. "We are now retrieving images electronically through MEDITECH's integrated EMR solution. The advantage is that physicians can access images regardless of where they are, without making a trip to the Radiology department."

As a result of this integration, care providers can devote more time to direct patient care. For instance, Dr. Murray notes physicians can review a child's x-ray at bedside, to determine if a condition such as pneumonia is improving. "The physician can then discuss the next steps of care at the bedside, while the patient and his or her guardian are in the room," he says. "It is a much better experience for the patient and family."

Patient Safety and Quality Care Leads to Leapfrog Recognition
Given Cook Children's recent strides in leveraging technology to improve health care, it's no surprise they were also recognized by The Leapfrog Group for their achievements in providing quality services. The winners were selected based on results from the Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey.

"This particular distinction means a great deal to us, because it perfectly sums up why we are here—to improve the health status of every child in our region through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease, and injury," says Dr. Murray. "Our success with integrating PACS with the EMR represents one important piece of the puzzle."

Going Forward: Collaboration with Vendors Key to Reaching Every Child
Looking ahead, Cook Children's five-year goal is to extend their current efforts even further by having a completely paperless health care environment. They also plan to have a fully integrated medical record, encompassing all clinical, financial, and administrative information, across the entire care continuum. "We are close to achieving our goal, as we continue to add new electronic pieces one at a time," says Bob Reeves, director of I.T.

This goal is just one of many in Cook Children's Every Child 2020 long-term strategy, which envisions that all children throughout the Tarrant County region will have access to comprehensive pediatric care. This community collaboration will unify the health care networks so all children in the region have access to a primary care physician, up-to-date immunizations, and health insurance.

But while Cook Children's has ambitious goals for the future, they know they can't achieve these alone. The health care organization highly values its I.T. vendor partnerships to help them meet the coming challenges. "Our partnerships with MEDITECH and LSS are essential in helping us achieve our mission to reach every child with the best health care services possible," says Dr. Murray. "We look forward to our continued collaboration, for many years to come."

 

About Cook Children's Health Care System
Cook Children’s Health Care System is one of the country’s leading integrated pediatric health care delivery systems. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, the non-profit organization includes a nationally recognized Medical Center, Physician Network, Home Health Company, Health Plan, Health Foundation, and Health Care System. Cook Children’s includes more than 35 pediatric primary care offices and specialty clinics throughout Texas. Cook Children’s Medical Center is ranked in the top 5 percent of the nation’s hospitals for its nursing excellence and has a distinguished reputation for the uncommon care and outcomes achieved in its Neurology and Neurosurgery, Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery, Neonatology, Hematology/Oncology, and Pulmonology programs.

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