Electronic patient records

British Columbia’s PHSA opts for Eclipsys systems

VANCOUVER – The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) announced it will deploy Eclipsys’ Sunrise Clinical Manager with Critical Care and Sunrise ED Manager, computerized applications supplied by Eclipsys Corp.

Implementation is expected to start in the second quarter of 2005, beginning at the PHSA agencies of BC Cancer Agency, BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre.

PHSA coordinates high-quality specialized healthcare and, through the BC Cancer Agency and pediatric oncology centre at BC Children’s Hospital, serves as the oncology center for the 4.2 million residents of British Columbia.

To enhance the quality of care and improve efficiencies, a committee of clinicians and information technology specialists reviewed solutions by leading health information technology (HIT) vendors. The committee determined that Eclipsys offered the best solution to automate PHSA’s current paper-based clinical information systems.

“Enhancing patient safety and providing accurate, comprehensive information to help healthcare providers make the best possible decisions for their patients are key priorities and are driving forces in our decision to implement Eclipsys,” said Don Henkelman (pictured at left), CIO, Provincial Health Services Authority.

“We chose Eclipsys for the strength of its rules and alerts engine,” said Henkelman. “It will provide advanced decision support for our clinicians. This capability is particularly important when dealing with the complexities of pediatric and oncology medication administration.”

According to Eclipsys, Sunrise Clinical Manager with Critical Care leverages a multi-faceted alerting system and evidence-based clinical content to help healthcare professionals reduce clinical complications, shorten length of stay and prevent inappropriate admissions.

Delivered on the XA extended architecture platform, Sunrise Critical Care extends the capabilities of Clinical Manager to integrate data from within and beyond the Critical Care area. This streamlines communication among disciplines and departments so clinicians can provide optimal patient care.

In addition, PHSA will benefit from the integration of Sunrise ED Manager with the rest of the healthcare organization, through a single, enterprise-wide patient record that is secure and confidentially managed.

From the moment a patient enters the facility, data gathered flows seamlessly into the computer-based patient record (CPR). All previous encounters – whether at the ED, inpatient facilities or affiliated health centers – are accessible through the advanced Health Data Repository. Through the automation of functions, such as registration, triage, patient tracking, orders/results, documentation, discharge, prescription writing and many more, workflows are streamlined, patients move more efficiently through the ED and outcomes improve.

“Moving to a paperless, connected enterprise that makes a single patient record available enterprise-wide will provide clinicians with the information they need – anytime, anywhere within a secure environment on any device – to make the best decisions for their patients,” said Paul L. Ruflin, Eclipsys president and CEO.

“As a result, the Provincial Health Services Authority can expect improved patient care and operational efficiency,” added Ruflin.

About the Provincial Health Services Authority: The Provincial Health Services Authority is one of six health authorities within the province of British Columbia. While the other five serve geographic regions of BC, PHSA covers the entire province. Its primary role is ensuring that BC residents have access to a coordinated network of high-quality specialized healthcare services.

The Provincial Health Services Authority operates provincial agencies including BC Cancer Agency, BC Centre for Disease Control, BC Children’s Hospital, BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre, the BC Renal Agency, the BC Transplant Society, Forensic Psychiatric Services and Riverview Hospital. It is also responsible for specialized provincial health services like cardiac services, which are delivered in a number of locations in the regional health authorities. For more information, see http://www.phsa.ca .

About Eclipsys: Eclipsys is a leading provider of advanced clinical, financial and management information software and service solutions to more than 1,500 healthcare facilities. Eclipsys enables healthcare organizations to improve patient safety, revenue cycle management and operational efficiency through innovative information solutions. For more information, see http://www.eclipsys.com.