Hospitals choose McKesson Paragon to replace legacy Meditech systems

ATLANTA, August 27, 2012 – St. Mark’s Medical Center in La Grange, Texas, recently became the latest hospital to go-live on McKesson’s Paragon hospital information system (HIS), completely transitioning off a legacy HIS just 14 months after contract signing. With clinicians already giving up paper for electronic records, the medical center began its 90-day reporting period for Stage 1 meaningful use within a week of go-live. St. Mark’s is one of a dozen hospitals that have recently replaced systems from Meditech with the top-rated[i] Paragon solution, successfully completing quick, seamless migrations. 

“We originally chose Paragon to help us on our path to meaningful use and qualify for incentive funds,” said Patti Sulak, Director of Information Technology at the hospital. “However, we also needed a proven, modern system that would help us improve patient care, and our clinicians are already seeing benefits. Had we stayed on our previous system, we would have continued to struggle on both counts.”

St. Mark’s leaders and staff committed to make a rapid transition. To start, representatives from various hospital departments conducted a thorough review of potential replacement systems. The selection committee ranked the products on various criteria. The depth and breadth of Paragon’s fully integrated financial and clinical system, the lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and the system’s intuitive nature combined to separate Paragon from the pack.  A rapid 14-month implementation process followed, incorporating training that enabled clinicians to quickly and comfortably move from paper to electronic documentation and culminated in a single, big-bang go live on all applications.

“The entire process has gone smoothly, and the McKesson staff has worked so closely with us that they feel like extended family,” Sulak added. “Collaborating as partners has enabled us to act quickly and start delivering value to our patients and staff.”

The Paragon HIS is built on a Microsoft Windows-based platform with a single database. The system offers a completely integrated suite of advanced clinical, financial, physician and ancillary applications. St. Mark’s expects to leverage its new HIS to more efficiently manage clinical and revenue operations, driving improvements in performance, patient safety and clinical care.

Positioning organizations like St. Mark’s to achieve those goals is at the center of McKesson’s Better Health 2020, an initiative designed to help customers achieve better patient care, better business health and better connectivity in their communities. Critical success factors addressed by Better Health 2020 include capturing the value of core systems, reducing costs while improving quality, connecting and coordinating care, and managing advanced payment models. To support these goals, McKesson plans to invest $1 billion in research and development across its technology businesses during the next two years.

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to help hospitals like St. Mark’s on their journeys to attestation,” said Jim Pesce, president, Paragon, McKesson Provider Technologies. “More importantly, we recognize that these transitions are about meaningful improvements for the long-term. They are simply the first steps in integrating a hospital’s clinical and financial operations for better patient care and lower total cost of ownership.”