CASE HISTORY

eHealthTechnologies.com

Transplant programs rely on the acquisition ofexternal medical records to evaluate potentialcandidates and determine whether or not that personshould be listed. Yet, the typical process for obtainingthese records is laborious and often wroughtwith inefficiencies, leading to a delay in patientpresentation at selection committee meetings.

Patients must also receive a series of tests as part ofthe transplant evaluation process. If some tests wererecently completed at another facility, such as anEKG or routine chest X-ray, it is possible to use thoseresults rather than re-test the patient. However, afacility’s inability to quickly access prior records canlead to unnecessary duplicate testing and additionalprovider expense.

From weeks to hours

When Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center’sAbdominal Transplant Program first started usingeHealth Connect® Intelligent Health Record Aggrega-tion Service for referred patient medical record re-trieval, the results were instantaneous. The averageturnaround-time for urgent medical record requestsdropped to 24 to 48 hours, while standard, non- ur-gent requests were received within one week. Prior toimplementation of eHealth Connect, receipt of pa-tient records from external health facilities averaged14 days. eHealth Connect, with eHealth Technologiesworld-class customer service team, expedites the en-tire process, says the abdominal organ transplant ad-ministrator. This leads to several

advantages. "We can see, evaluate and list patientsquicker, which makes a difference for that patient’slife span and quality of life,” she stated. She addedthat finding out if external patient records do existand then obtaining them quickly does reduce repeattesting.

“By having all the appropriate patient health data infront of us sooner, we can determine if there is a needfor urgency of transplant or other, more appropriatetreatment options,” she explains. For example,she notes that potential kidney transplant patientswill fare better if they the transplant before dialysisbegins. “For these patients, time is of the essence.”

Reducing costs is as important as ensuring qualityoutcomes. She estimates that the Hershey kidneyand liver transplant program saves one FTE supportperson’s salary each year by using eHealth ConnectIntelligent Health Record Aggregation Service. “Weare not only saving money, but we have a more

Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

eHealth Connect® Intelligent Health Record Aggregation Service consistently delivers access toexternal medical records for Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Abdominal TransplantDepartment.

eHealth Technologies 250 Thruway Park Drive | West Henrietta, NY 14586 www.eHealthTechnologies.com | info@eHealthTechnologies.com | 1.877.344.8999 ext. 617

CASE HISTORY | PENN STATE MILTON S. HERSHEY MEDICAL CENTER

receive scans that look for the progression of thedisease. Since all types of diagnostic images arecaptured – from MRI to visible light exams usingendoscopes – the ability to electronically viewany image “is very useful for making patient caredecisions.” She adds that prior to this service, clini-cians may have repeated a test that was not availablefor review. “eHealthViewer ZF allows for better utiliza-tion of testing without duplication.”

She states that these tests are available for viewing bythe team in selection committee meetings; priorto implementation, only a paper record was available.Once a transplant case is closed, the images and dataobtained by eHealth Connect are easily tagged to therest of the patient’s medical file.

“What’s amazing about eHealth Technologies is thateven after we’ve exhausted all our efforts to obtain apatient’s medical record, we use eHealth Connect andthey are able to deliver.”

efficient utilization of our staff." According to the ad-ministrator, eHealth Connect replaces approximately16 staff hours each week – time that was spent re-questing and tracking down referred patient medi-cal records. Today at Hershey, the service is used forall patients who live at least two hours away or ina different state.

Portal viewer facilitates patient care decisions

Impressed with the success of eHealth Connect,Hershey agreed to become a beta test site foreHealth Technologies' eHealthViewer® ZF. TheeHealthViewer ZF is a zero footprint solution that canbe launched from any secure browser and enablesclinical image analysis and review.

“Many of our clinicians want to view patient imagesin real-time for comparison with prior films,” says theadministrator. Imaging studies are often performeddifferently to capture specific details on a particulardisease. Prospective Liver transplant candidates