Virginia Hospital Center patnered with Siemens to improve patient safety

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Virginia Hospital Center will launch a $14 million new Hospital Information System (HIS) in 2009 that will utilize advanced information technologies (IT) to create efficiencies and orchestrate clinical best practices.

Virginia Hospital Center will launch a $14 million new Hospital Information System (HIS) in 2009 that will utilize advanced information technologies (IT) to create efficiencies and orchestrate clinical best practices.

David Crutchfield, Chief Information Officer at Virginia Hospital Center said, Virginia Hospital Center is excited about our partnership with Siemens and the implementation of this new, market-leading platform that will improve patient safety and process efficiency. It's all about using technology to provide the best possible care for our patients from start to finish.  This system is a perfect match to the sophisticated medical expertise currently in place at Virginia Hospital Center

Virginia Hospital Center will deploy Soarian's clinical, financial, physician order management, scheduling, internet portal and health information management (HIM) applications, as well as a number of ancillary applications that support the Hospital's efforts to ensure patient safety and a positive patient experience.

Medication orders are just one aspect of care that will benefit from automation. Prescriptions managed through a computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system will generate pop-up alerts for possible drug and food interactions, counter-indications with a patient's existing medications, and other potential red flags.

Expedited treatment decisions will be another plus for patients. The system's critical results notification function will ensure core medical staff is mobilized instantly (via email, pager, and cell phone) in the event of a patient emergency, or that referring physicians are contacted immediately if the results of a diagnostic screening warrant swift action. Radio frequency tracking will keep track of where patients are in the hospital and which services they are receiving at any given time. With digital archiving, physicians can access patient medical records and imaging studies from anywhere inside the Hospital, or remotely from home.

Virginia Hospital Center will also implement Siemens Pharmacy, Enterprise Document Management, Siemens OPENLink,  as well as clinical specialty modules that include Soarian Cardiology, Soarian Emergency Department and Soarian Critical Care.