Switch to electronic records alarms Jefferson Regional physicians

Walter F. Roche Jr.

Oct. 30, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Jefferson Regional Medical Center's attempts to convert to electronic medical records have some doctors concerned about patient safety.

In a memo issued this month, the hospital's Health Information Technology Committee announced the 373-bed facility in Jefferson Hills would revert to printed versions of patients' consultant reports "due to patient safety concerns from the majority of physicians."

Jefferson executives downplayed the memo and said they found no evidence that patient safety has been impacted, arguing a small group of physicians expressed concerns and not a majority, as the memo claimed.

"It was a very small number that were concerned. It wasn't the majority," said Dr. Richard F. Collins, Jefferson's vice president for medical affairs. "To this point, we haven't identified any issue of patient safety."

Collins and other hospital officials who support the conversion say that once adopted and accepted, electronic records will increase patient safety and efficiency, and eliminate "piles of paper."

But other internal Jefferson memos show that following the conversion, the volume of charts not completed by physicians and other staffers "significantly increased." As a result, the hospital instituted a system that automatically directs physicians to an "online medical completion" site when they first sign on to the system.

"That prompts the physician to complete what he has not completed," Collins said.

The backlog of incomplete records, primarily patient discharge summaries required by federal rules, dropped significantly since that change was instituted Oct. 1, Collins said.

Jefferson, like other hospitals in the region, hopes to recover some of the cost of switching to an electronic system by utilizing some of the $19 billion in stimulus money Congress approved last spring.

"There are some dollars available if we meet the standards," Collins said.

According to Collins and James Witenske, Jefferson's chief information officer, the transition began about a year ago and was completed in May. The hospital uses a system developed by Siemens (NYSE:SI) , Collins said. He declined to disclose the cost.

Other health care firms, including University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and West Penn Allegheny Health System, hope to qualify for stimulus money to cover some of the cost of converting to electronic systems. The stimulus statute provides money for electronic medical records systems that meet standards not yet finalized.

Witenske said he believes Jefferson's system eventually will qualify. Under the federal law, hospitals will face financial penalties -- through reductions in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements -- if they fail to convert, starting in 2015.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0288-39290523