Coos Bay, December 16, 2019: The South Coast Ecosystem is planning to launch Epic, its new electronic health record (EHR) system through a partnership with St. Charles Health System (St. Charles). Epic is a widely used health record system, which will provide an integrated technology platform for clinicians, patients, and staff that will allow them to work collaboratively to improve patient care, innovate healthcare delivery, and achieve financial health. Many Oregonians have a health record in Epic, and many south coast patients who are transferred to Eugene or Portland are treated in facilities that use Epic.
The South Coast Ecosystem is made up of Bay Area Hospital, Bay Clinic Partnership, North Bend Medical Center, and Advanced Health who all came together and began a comprehensive selection process for an Epic partner back in January of this year. The choice to move to Epic came about as a means to replace the multiple EHRs with a new integrated system that will support care coordination, evidence-based care, standardization, and greater efficiency.
“This partnership between the hospital and local physicians is really exciting. Coming together as a local community to collaborate with St. Charles Health System will improve care and access to medical records, creating a better experience for patients”, says Brian Moore, CEO at Bay Area Hospital.
This transition to Epic will enhance the patient safety, collaboration, and efficiency required by the South Coast Ecosystem organizations in order to meet patients’ unique needs across the continuum of care. In March 2017 several organizations in the south coast community signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to further explore a collaborative approach to sharing information between the major regional healthcare providers.
As part of the initiative, Bay Area Hospital and its partners are considering strategies for collaboration across the care delivery system including hospitals, medical groups, and an independent practice association of more than 100 physicians in the south coast region. Additionally, MOU participants are exploring the possibilities for greater integration of health information technology, including the use of a common EHR platform, which will replace the seven electronic health records systems currently being used by care providers in the area.
The group chose St. Charles as a partner due to the fact that they provided a detailed proposal including staffing, governance, and support for all three Phase One participants. In addition, St. Charles demonstrated a strong commitment to partnership throughout the due diligence process.
“We are thrilled that the South Coast Ecosystem has selected St. Charles to serve as their Community Connect partner for their Epic implementation,” said Joe Sluka, president and CEO of St. Charles Health System. “We will work closely with the South Coast entities to ensure a seamless transition to the new platform.”
Additionally, St. Charles’ Epic is considered to be in the top 4% of Epic implementations around the country based on Epic’s Good Install program, and the fact that they have achieved an Epic gold star rating of 9 out of 10 which measures how well St. Charles has adopted Epic. Their Epic system is hosted by the vendor, ensuring reliability and redundancy for the South Coast Ecosystem. When all the organizations involved begin to utilize the same system, clinicians and caregivers will have access to more complete and accurate health information which will improve the quality of care provided to patients.
If you have questions or need additional information, contact Patrick Varga, Chief Information Officer at Bay Area Hospital at (541) 269- 8482.
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Bay Area Hospital improves the health of our community every day and offers a comprehensive range of diagnostic and therapeutic services spanning medical, surgical, pediatric, critical care, home health, outpatient and acute psychiatric, oncology, obstetrical, and other specialties.
Bay Clinic takes pride in both the quality of medical care offered and the friendly interactions they provide to patients and their families. All Bay Clinic staff are highly skilled and efficient, and they intend to provide the highest quality of care and professionalism.
North Bend Medical Center offers comprehensive care in five Southern Oregon coastal communities. From their Immediate Care Clinic and community-based primary care services to the multi-specialty care available in their main clinic, North Bend Medical Center is your convenient source for complete care close to home.
Advanced Health is a locally owned and operated Coordinated Care Organization (CCO). They serve all communities in Coos and Curry Counties. They proudly connect members to high quality medical, dental, behavioral health, and substance use treatment through local collaboration and innovation.
