What You Should Know:
– MEDITECH today announced two critical access hospitals in Idaho, St. Mary’s Health (Cottonwood) and Clearwater Valley Health (Orofino), have partnered to implement a shared MEDITECH Expanse EHR across their hospitals and associated clinics.
– Clearwater Valley Health and St. Mary’s Health currently serve the healthcare needs of people across Clearwater, Idaho, and Lewis counties, providing more than 45,000 outpatient visits annually.
Enhancing Patient Care with a Unified Platform
Previously operating with separate EHR systems, St. Mary’s Health and Clearwater Valley Health, the MEDITECH Expanse platform will provide a single, unified patient record across both hospitals and their associated clinics, including their Level 4 Trauma Centers. This fosters a more holistic view of a patient’s medical history, regardless of their location within the healthcare system.
Benefits for Rural Patients and Providers
The partnership leverages MEDITECH as a Service (MaaS), a cloud-based subscription model. This approach is particularly beneficial for rural healthcare organizations, as it reduces upfront costs and IT infrastructure requirements associated with traditional EHR deployments.
Patient Engagement at the Forefront
Understanding the challenges faced by their rural communities, St. Mary’s Health and Clearwater Valley Health prioritize patient engagement. The new platform will offer patients a centralized patient portal across all facilities. This allows patients to conveniently manage their care remotely by:
- Completing questionnaires
- Submitting health metrics
- Messaging their care team
- Participating in virtual visits
Additionally, the platform utilizes Expanse Patient Connect, enabling secure two-way communication with patients via text messaging for appointment reminders and health maintenance notifications.
Collaboration and Interoperability
St. Mary’s Health and Clearwater Valley Health’s collaboration extends beyond their shared EHR system. They partner with Kootenai Health for patients requiring specialty care. To ensure seamless interoperability, the chosen platform features MEDITECH’s Traverse solution, facilitating data exchange between different EHR vendors.
“We’ve built a reputation for exceptional and compassionate care. To live up to that, we needed an EHR partner that would align with our core values of safety, compassion, and engagement. MEDITECH checked all the boxes, providing us with an EHR that can connect hospitals, clinics, and most importantly, patients across our close-knit communities. This technology will help to improve the care process for everyone,” said CEO Lenne Bonner, who oversees both organizations.
