Carson Tahoe implements advanced electronic medical record program to improve patient care
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Sun, 10/11/2020 - 7:29am
On Saturday, Oct. 10, the entire Carson Tahoe Health system, including the Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center, Carson Tahoe Medical Group, and all other outlying locations, launched Epic — a highly regarded and well-utilized medical records system.
“Moving to Epic for managing our charts and health records is one big step in advancing care for Northern Nevada, particularly for our family of rural communities,” says Mitch Watson, Carson Tahoe Chief Financial Officer, Vice President, and leading executive over the Epic Project. “Not only will this integrative system potentially ease the workload of staff, eliminating our use of numerous programs, but it will also improve patient safety, expand access with a single patient portal called MyChart, and give patients greater control over their health journeys.”
Epic leads its industry in providing intuitive software, designed to connect the dots between patients, their existing health records hosted on Epic, and allow providers to collaborate more effectively to improve patient care.
MyChart Patient Portal
MyChart acts as a gateway to a patient’s complete health record. The secure online platform gives them convenient, 24-hour access to personal health information such as medications & lab results. It can also act as a quick resource for the patient and their provider with a message option & appointment scheduling for existing providers.
To sign up for MyChart, patients will receive an activation code at the time of scheduling or when they check-in at any CTH location. The code will come as part of the discharge paperwork from primary care, urgent care, or hospital visits. What’s great is that patients can use just one MyChart login to manage their health records for all providers that use Epic & MyChart, even ones outside of the Carson Tahoe Health network. Although MyChart will replace our three existing patient portals (Follow My Health, CTMG, and CTC), old data will be available through Medical Records.
Rising To The Challenge
“Bringing on a new medical records and charting system is like bringing in a new coworker. We all need a little time and patience to learn how to work with Epic. That may come with a few snags along the line, but we are well-prepared to address any challenges with additional support staff and resources,” Watson said.
To carry out this momentous feat, Carson Tahoe worked for over a year with affiliate, University of Utah Health and Epic teams to deploy the system as seamlessly as possible. Carson Tahoe employees were required to train and test prior to go-live for access to the program.
Employing Epic, the largest electronic medical records system in the nation, also required streaming workflows, advancing order sets, and enhancing processes and communications. So changing the records system wasn’t just changing a screen on a computer, really, it was a way for Carson Tahoe to begin transforming care delivery.
“The implementation of Epic and MyChart has been a long time coming, and many people from near and far have put in a great deal of work to plan, prepare, and execute,” Watson said. “We look forward to putting in the effort to master this software and, in turn, vastly improve your Carson Tahoe experience.”
To learn more about MyChart, visit CarsonTahoe.com/MyChart.
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