Technology is an integral part of patient care at Licking Memorial Health Systems (LMHS).  Every step of the care process – including registration, treatment, medications and discharge instructions – is entered into a computerized system and added to the patient’s electronic health record (EHR).  Patients have the ability to access their own medical records and vital health information either online or through an app.  Beyond personal health information, computer programs are used to run the telephone system, patient food orders at Licking Memorial Hospital (LMH), payments made at the gift shop, and to log and track fitness information for the Active Fit and Active Senior programs.  The highly trained employees of Licking Memorial Information Systems (IS), who operate, maintain and safeguard ever-changing technology, are a key factor in ensuring LMHS’ mission to improve the health of the community is fulfilled.

In the continual search to find more efficient and up-to-date technology, IS assisted in researching different platforms to streamline patient access to medical information.  In collaboration with Epic Systems Corporation, members of the IS team began the software configuration process for a new unified EHR system.  The benefits of the new integrated system is continuity, and high-quality care, as well as convenient communication to patients and providers.  While the software consists of pre-set parameters, Epic offered LMHS the opportunity to customize the processes and work-flow settings to create procedures unique to the organization.  Hiring additional employees was necessary to assist in the process given the guidelines and timeline set by Epic and to support the system long-term.  LMHS Leadership realized the expertise of physicians, nurses, pharmacy technicians, billing specialists and many other LMHS employees was needed to create forms, alerts and other protocols that would be easily understood and user friendly. 

All employees involved with the Epic project were required to undergo training through Epic Systems Corporation in Wisconsin.  At the beginning of the year, dozens of team members made the trip to earn the certifications needed for the massive build project.  “As COVID-19 began to spread quickly in the United States, we realized traveling out of the state was not beneficial for the health and wellbeing of our employees,” said LMHS President & CEO Rob Montagnese.  “Vice President of Information Systems Sallie Arnett led the way in assuring her staff and all other LMHS employees that could work from home had the tools needed to do so.”  Epic training continued through alternate means such as online conferences and meetings.  Despite the challenges of a home-based workforce, the IS team continued the build process and was able to stay on the schedule set by Epic for implementing the system.  Epic is currently undergoing testing with the certified employees and super users – system users with extensive knowledge of workflows and the supported Epic applications.  The remainder of LMHS staff will be trained and become familiar with Epic in the first quarter of 2021, and the system is expected to be fully incorporated by March.

With additional employees on the IS team, the department underwent a number of changes.  Several managers were promoted to Director of Information Systems to oversee the various teams throughout the department, including physician practice electronic medical records and business analytics, infrastructure, health information and Hospital electronic medical records, project management, information security, and revenue cycle.  The application analysts continue to configure and test the functionality of the systems they are developing.  This includes extensive testing of all equipment.  The project management team oversees the activities of all system applications and helps to coordinate communications.  As part of the installation process, a number of analysts and trainers who learned the system first are now training others on the processes.  While the main focus of the teams has been the implementation of Epic, the systems currently in place are being maintained and safe-guarded by the designated teams. 

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 is a federal law that protects sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient's consent or knowledge.  With all medical information available in digital form, security is a high-priority for LMHS.  IS has a dedicated team of experienced employees who create policies to protect patient information and all other systems in use throughout the organization, including email.  The team continually is updating firewalls and other security measures to avoid a data breach.  The group also works to educate LMHS employees about various cyberattacks and methods hackers utilize to deceive people into divulging passwords or other sensitive information.  The system constantly is monitored for malicious activity and apprised for threats.  Any new program, software and hardware is thoroughly researched and assessed for security risks.  The team found integrating Epic would be beneficial to the organization because it eliminated previously discovered safety concerns.

In order to run a program, print an order or input a request, the equipment itself must be functional.  IS team members working on the Infrastructure Team are responsible for all maintenance and upgrades on the computers, printers and other devices used throughout LMHS.  While many of the employees are able to perform some tasks remotely, Infrastructure team members often must physically inspect equipment in need of repairs or other maintenance.  The team also is responsible for the hundreds of servers housed at LMH.  In order to obtain the best results and satisfaction, the IS team continues their own education on changes and advances in equipment and software.  They also work to be proactive to prevent failures by diligently reading output reports on machines and looking for equipment that is being used more often to determine an appropriate time for upgrades and replacements.  Before the Epic installation began, the infrastructure team was tasked with inventorying all available hardware and completing an assessment on what would be needed to ensure the project is a success.

When Epic is fully installed and operational, LMHS looks forward to combining services that have been separated for LMH and physician office practices, such as medical record information and billing.  The new system will offer a centralized billing process eliminating the many different bills a patient receives.  Numerous employees with billing experience were tasked with assisting in the creation of an easy-to-use system that will be more easily understood by both the Billing Department and patients.
Technology benefits every aspect of the daily routine of LMHS.  Members of the IS team take their job responsibilities very seriously and are passionate about providing quality service for the health and wellbeing of the community.  The team members understand that every program and piece of equipment that works properly directly impacts the quality of patient care available.