Print

December 08, 2009

ADVANCE for Health Information Professionals

Kern Medical Center Selects OpenVista for EHR Implementation

Medsphere Systems Corporation announced that Kern Medical Center (KMC) of Bakersfield, CA will fully and meaningfully deploy the OpenVista electronic health record (EHR) by the end of 2010.

This significant health IT initiative is designed to help KMC achieve dramatic and swift clinical transformation while maximizing health IT financial incentives available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). OpenVista's affordability and rapid implementation process will enable the county-owned medical center to cut costs and streamline care for more than 100,000 acute and ambulatory care patients each year while using federal ARRA stimulus funds to pay for the system in total.

"We are confident OpenVista will, most importantly, improve the safety and quality of care for our patients; it will also streamline care in Kern County, and eliminate waste, workflow inefficiencies and the inappropriate duplication of services," said Paul Hensler, FACHE, CEO of Kern Medical Center. "We looked at other solutions, but OpenVista's comparatively low cost and speed of implementation made it the obvious choice for us. We didn't think any other system could be implemented fast enough for us to qualify for the first year of federal funding."

Under the ARRA legislation, eligible hospitals that implement and meaningfully use an EHR by the 2011 deadline will receive millions of federal dollars through increased Medicare reimbursements between 2011 and 2014. The incentives become penalties for hospitals that have not implemented an EHR by 2015.

"The partnership with Kern Medical Center demonstrates Medsphere's ability to provide hospitals with a safe, reliable and cost-effective solution that has a proven return on investment," said Michael J. Doyle, president and CEO of Medsphere. "We applaud Paul Hensler and his team, and the Kern County Board of Supervisors, for making this forward-thinking choice, especially as it relates to the responsible use of public funds. The hospital is saving Kern County taxpayers money by making a sound financial decision."

Medsphere Systems Corporation announced that Kern Medical Center (KMC) of Bakersfield, CA will fully and meaningfully deploy the OpenVista electronic health record (EHR) by the end of 2010.