Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare’s Methodist North Hospital is Memphis’ first private hospital to launch a fully integrated electronic medical record (EMR) system.

Methodist North’s EMR system, OneChart, has been in development since 2002, and the implementation of OneChart’s Electronic Medical Administration Record (eMAR) and Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) marks the beginning of seamless patient care.

The eMAR and CPOE allow physicians and caregivers to access patients’ complete medical records, including their medical history, medications, allergies, test results, vital signs and other medical information, via secure, password-protected computers at the bedside and throughout the hospital.

“Caregivers will be able to update patient records in real time, and multiple caregivers will be able to access the same records simultaneously from multiple computers. In addition, the system will track who is accessing the records and when,” said Methodist North Project Manager Jeff McRoberts.

Physicians and staff at Methodist North have been training for months in anticipation of the switch to EMR.

“Our staff has attended classes to learn new processes and how to document patient care in this new work environment,” said Rhonda Murchison, chief nursing officer at Methodist North. “They see the advantages to EMR and have worked hard to prepare themselves. The reason we are doing this is to improve patient safety.”

Methodist’s five Memphis-area hospitals, including Methodist South Hospital, Methodist University Hospital, Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center, and Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital have many components of OneChart in place. Plans to expand the full EMR system to each hospital are under way.

“EMR is the future of health care, and we’re proud to make our hospital better for our community,” said Murchison.

Using this advanced EMR technology is already saving lives.  A dedicated team at Methodist North worked within the EMR to create an electronic warning that alerts hospital medical staff to patients in danger of sepsis and has already decreased mortality due to sepsis by 30 percent.