CCH Board agrees to move forward with electronic records
Published Claiborne Progress
July 6, 2011
There's good news for the hospital - revenues continue to improve, and admissions for both the hospital and nursing home continue to be higher than average, reported Administrator Tim Brown at the latest meeting of the Claiborne County Hospital Board of Directors.
In their regular meeting on Tuesday, June 21, Brown reported there was a combined income of $161,624 for the month of May.
He also provided a capital equipment update to the board. The current lease is up for evaluation on the hospital's CT scanner, a sixteen-slice unit. Items for consideration included the number of scans done monthly, the capability of additional tests that would be available with a more advanced unit, and growth potential of a new unit. Brown will supply additional evaluation on this equipment at the July board meeting.
During the management report, Brown presented information on upgrading the hospital's current electronic health record system. The upgrade would include the implementation a digital patient record, which would provide improved communication among physicians and patient care staff, reduce errors, and improve patient care and safety. The utilization of electronic health records is a federal requirement, but Mr. Brown noted that hospitals who met certain timetables for installing these systems in their facilities were eligible for Medicare incentive payments. After additional discussion, the board voted to proceed with the implementation of the electronic health record system for the hospital.
The next meeting of the board of directors is scheduled for July 19 at 6:00 PM.
