Pagosa Springs Medical Center (PSMC), based in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, has achieved Stage 7 of the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) from Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics.
As a critical access hospital with 11 inpatient beds, seven emergency department beds, ancillary services and an outpatient rural health clinic, PSMC, located in southwest Colorado, is the smallest independent hospital to achieve Stage 7 recognition, something only 6.5 percent of U.S. hospitals have achieved.
“By providing our doctors and staff with sophisticated health care IT solutions, we have achieved the highest level of electronic health record (EHR) capability,” Rhonda Webb, M.D., CEO and chief medical officer, PSMC. “At Pagosa Springs Medical Center, we always want to advance our hospital and the health care services we offer to our community. We are beyond honored to receive such a prestigious award that highlights our commitment to continuing to improve care.”
The organization opened its doors just 10 years ago providing the community of approximately 12,500 full-time residents access to local health care. Prior to that time, the nearest hospital was 60 miles away.
To receive EMRAM Stage 7 recognition, PSMC embarked on a performance improvement project focused on data analytics and using the insights gained from that data to improve care. PSMC now has a vast amount of health data, paired with the knowledge to access, compile and act on the data in meaningful ways.
PSMC began its transition to an electronic health record (EHR) system in 2014 by deploying the Cerner Millennium EHR throughout the hospital and its rural health clinic. Through this process, PSMC has been able to improve workflow efficiency and provide doctors a comprehensive, unified view of all patient care data with a single EHR.
“It is amazing to see Pagosa Springs Medical Center receive such high honors on its path to improving patient care and optimizing hospital operations,” Mitchell Clark, senior vice president, Cerner CommunityWorks, Cerner, said. “This recognition is well deserved – not many hospitals or health systems are able to achieve this highest level of EHR adoption, regardless of their size. Cerner is proud to have provided a foundation for Pagosa Springs Medical Center to continue to advance the health of its community.”
By leveraging the Cerner CommunityWorks delivery model, PSMC has access to a shared, cloud-based EHR domain that is tailored to support the unique needs of community health care organizations. PSMC’s reports from the Stage 7 project are available to Cerner client hospitals and health systems, giving them the opportunity to implement the reports to improve EHR adoption and care.
“Having just hit our 10-year anniversary of opening our doors in January, this accomplishment means even more to us,” Michelle Flemmings, M.D., chief medical informatics officer, PSMC, said. “This proves what I always tell people, we are a small medical center with bold vision and big ideas.”
HIMSS Analytics developed the EMRAM in 2005 as a methodology for evaluating the progress and impact of electronic medical records on health systems around the world. Tracking their progress in completing eight stages (0-7), hospitals can review the implementation and utilization of information and technology applications culminating with Stage 7, which represents an advanced electronic patient record environment.
