New IT system bolsters St. Francis’ patient care delivery, processes

INDIANAPOLIS – New health information technology acquired by the Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc. will strengthen the hospital system’s processes related to patient care and clinical administration.

SSFHS has selected EpicCare, a comprehensive, integrated suite of applications produced by the Wisconsin-based Epic Systems Corp. Among the hospitals affected: St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers (Indianapolis, Beech Grove, Mooresville), St. Anthony Medical Center (Crown Point), St. Anthony Memorial Health Centers (Michigan City), St. Clare Medical Center (Crawfordsville), St. Elizabeth Regional Health (Lafayette), St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers (Hammond and Dyer), and St. James Hospital and Health Centers (Olympia Fields and Chicago Heights, Ill.)

“Several factors went into this decision,” said Robert J. Brody, St. Francis president and chief executive officer. “Health care in the United States is rapidly changing to a system where care providers will be required to produce much higher quality outcomes using fewer resources, and where collaboration is vital in providing top-notch, efficient patient services.”

Among the areas where the EpicCare computer technology will be integrated:

Patient medical records
Medication administration, pharmacy tracking
Operating room/surgery management
Alverno Clinical Labs
Medical imaging
Emergency room documentation and patient tracking
Cardiology and anesthesia
Physician order
Hospital scheduling, registration and billing

Other services such as oncology, ophthalmology, ambulatory pharmacy and home health programs are cheduled to be phased in at a later time.

Headquartered in Mishawaka, Ind., the Sisters of St. Francis Health Services is a network of 13 growing hospital campuses in Indiana and Illinois and is one of the largest health-care systems in the state.

The system’s health-care ministry in Indiana was established in 1875 and today employs more than 18,000 individuals in its health-care ministries. More information about SSFHS is at www.ssfhs.org.