New hospital IT system bolsters patient care services

Sisters of St. Francis Northern Indiana Region implements EpicCare

New health information technology acquired by Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Northern Indiana Region hospitals will help streamline patient care and clinical administration services.

Wisconsin-based Epic Systems Corp. will provide EpicCare, a program that offers comprehensive, integrated computer software to support all functions related to patient care. The service will be available at Saint Margaret Mercy hospitals in Dyer and Hammond, Saint Anthony Medical Center in Crown Point and Saint Anthony Memorial Health Centers in Michigan City. It also will be offered throughout the 13-hospital, Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc. system in Indiana and Illinois.

“Epic’s integrated suite of health care applications supports a large number of patient care functions,’’ said Gene Diamond, SSFHS Northern Indiana Region chief executive officer. “Working closely with the Epic team, our employees and physicians look forward to bringing this top-ranked system to Northwest Indiana where all our patients will benefit from the enhanced coordination of care it will enable us to provide.’’

Among areas where the EpicCare computer technology will be integrated include:
Patient medical records.
Medication administration, pharmacy tracking.
Operating room/surgery management.
Alverno Information Services clinical labs.
Medical imaging.
Emergency room documentation and patient tracking.
Cardiology and anesthesia.
Physician orders.
Hospital scheduling, registration and billing.

Other services, such as oncology, ophthalmology, ambulatory pharmacy and home health programs, are scheduled to be phased in later.

Sister Aline Shultz, SSFHS Northern Indiana Region corporate vice president of marketing and public relations, lauded implementation of the EpicCare system. “EpicCare is a well-integrated, seamless software tool that will greatly enhance our health care and patient services, affording for higher-quality outcomes using fewer resources.’’

Mishawaka-based Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc. is one of the largest health care systems in Indiana. The system’s health care ministry was established in 1875 and employs more than 18,000 individuals.

For more information, visit www.ssfhs.org.