As Ephraim McDowell Health continues to strive for excellence in providing services to patients in our communities and after nearly three years of training and preparation, Physician Care Manager (PCM) will be implemented beginning August 17.

The goal of implementing PCM is to improve patient care and safety by linking together a patient's complete medical record so healthcare providers can see all of the same information about their patients.

"With the current healthcare reform package from the Obama administration, hospitals across the United States will be implementing their own version of PCM," says Karen Peavler, R.N., director – Clinical Information Services at Ephraim McDowell Health. "EMH is one of the early adaptors of this new system and is well on the way to full implementation. We will begin with a pilot group of physicians and with the expectation that all providers will be using the new technology by the end of 2010."

The implementation will allow the provider to manage all patients through a single desktop, enter orders electronically, dictate via voice recognition software, and enter discharge follow-up orders and prescriptions electronically. As orders are entered into the program, safety checks are performed such as allergy/adverse drug reactions, drug-to-drug interactions, drug-to-food interactions and drug-to-lab monitoring. The provider will have secure access to their patients' medications allowing them to review and determine if there will be any changes or a need for any new medications to be added. As soon as the physician signs on to the system, they will be alerted to any new results, consults, messages, admissions, discharges and transfers.