St. Charles Health selects Epic as its EHR vendor

Health Data Management’s weekly roundup of health IT contracts and deployments includes a shift to the Epic electronic health records system by a four-hospital system in Oregon and the move to a critical alert call system/real-time location system by a six-hospital organization.

• St. Charles Health System, with four hospitals serving the Bend, Ore. region, is going with Epic as its next electronic health records vendor. The organization is in the final stages of contract negotiations and laying out the implementation timeline. Contract signing is expected by mid-summer with a project kickoff in early fall. St. Charles expects to hire more than 100 people to staff its implementation team and has started recruiting.
• Six-hospital Genesis Health System serving the Quad Cities region of Iowa and Illinois is live in four hospitals with a critical alert nurse call system from Critical Alert Systems and Stanley Healthcare. The organization expects the new technology to help improve HCAHPS scores, clinical staff productivity and operational efficiency. Stanley brings a real-time location system to the program.
• Open MRI of Allentown, Pa., will implement the eRAD radiology information system and supporting modules to automate more of its clinical and business workflows and improve scheduling. The contract includes an insurance verification system. Open MRI, doing business as Allentown Diagnostic Imaging, also will use the new technology to supporting qualifying for Stage 2 EHR meaningful use incentive payments.
• Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom, expects to go live on MEDITECH 6.0 by the end of May. The organization treats more than 30,000 patients annually across 10 sites. It also has a new specialist cancer center in Liverpool.