CovingtonCares Magazine - Fall/Winter 2023

2023 Fall/Winter 12 Covington County Hospital is taking a big step toward fulfilling the promise of providing state-of-the-art electronic health records to its communities. By early 2024, a new EHR system will allow both patients and caregivers to access their medical records quickly and easily from just about anywhere. An online portal will let patients swiftly look up lab results, for example, or their medical history. “You’ll see all your data in one location,” said Danny Little, Chief Information Officer of the hospital. Doctors and other caregivers can also call up records quickly and easily. That could be crucial during emergencies when knowing about allergies or other medical conditions can save lives. Collaborating Little said, CCH now patches together three different EHR systems and still must scan in a few paper records. CCH is collaborating with several other hospitals, including Forrest General in Hattiesburg, Magee General in Magee, and Simpson General in Mendenhall, to install a comprehensive new system from Epic, the industry leader. Epic is the country’s largest EHR provider. Its systems store one-third of U.S. patients’ health records. Anywhere in the World Every hospital and clinic that uses Epic – and their patients – can quickly access Epic medical records anywhere in the world. And, through a feature called Care Everywhere, even EHR systems from other companies can access Epic records. Little said EHR systems are finally nearing the long-sought goal of seamless, universal sharing of data (with robust privacy safeguards). He said patients will benefit: “The move to Epic will give them a much better experience.” New System Will Streamline Electronic Records Access “You’ll see all your data in one location.” – Danny Little, Chief Information Officer