Our Story
In the fall of 2009, after nearly four years of planning and staged activations, Stanford Hospital and Clinics completed implementation of Epic’s enterprise EMR, a cornerstone in our strategy to transform the care experience for patients, physicians and staff.
Over the years, our institution had relied on a number of separate systems from different vendors to meet our clinical and administrative needs, resulting in challenges, both technical and cultural, around integration and effectiveness. Our transformation was more than just a replacement of systems and automation of processes; it was an exercise in cultural integration which unified our focus on the patient’s experience. By sharing in the design and use of a single tool, we exposed how we work together (and when we didn’t), and we forced ourselves to think in non-proprietary ways about what is best for our patients and the organization as a whole.
Change of this magnitude is never painless. We explored things that would have been easier to ignore. Sources of control, responsibility, and influence changed as work was redesigned and information became accessible to all. We are left with a new foundation for collaboration, shared accountability for technology, process, and outcomes, and the tools we need to adapt to a rapidly changing healthcare marketplace.
Adoption of a comprehensive EMR has quickened the pace of change at all levels of our institution and has forged new levels of cooperation and collaboration between physicians, nursing, staff and hospital leadership. Though we are in the early stages of realizing quantifiable benefits, we are proud of our recognition as leaders in the advanced adoption of these technologies to fulfill our mission: To Care, To Educate, and To Discover.
What is Epic?
- A computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system allowing providers to manage and communicate orders and results
- A clinical documentation tool that enhances workflow for all caregivers and makes information accessible to those who need it
- An electronic medication administration record (eMAR) and closed-loop medication administration system that ensures patient safety and reduces errors
- An integrated set of tools that allows data to move with patients across all areas such as clinics, the emergency department, and inpatient units
- An electronic system for patient registration, appointment scheduling, billing and other business related functions
- An online communication tool which connects our referring providers with us
- A patient portal which empowers our patients to become directly involved in the management of their own health information and the services they receive from us
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