Health Information Management Goes Virtual

Kittitas Valley Community Hospital’s health information (HIM) management department recently launched a new software system, Horizon Patient Folder, which acts as an electronic repository storing results from laboratory and radiology tests, dictations from physicians, and other reports associated with inpatient and outpatient records.

The technological advancement in the hospital’s medical records department allows medical staff to retrieve patient information virtually through a secured Internet-based application.

“In our mission to continually improve the quality of care for our patients, this state-of-the-art system was implemented to give clinicians immediate access to patient information,” said Dr. Don Solberg, chief medical officer at KVCH. “Now they have access to medical records wherever they are, day or night; thereby accelerating their ability to obtain accurate patient information in a timely manner.”

Paul Nurick, chief executive officer of KVCH, said quality initiatives for the hospital include maintaining a contemporary facility with modern information technology. “The hospital’s focus is to supply the medical staff with the tools and resources they need to provide patients with the right care, right here, right now,” said Nurick.

In addition to giving clinicians real-time access to medical records, Horizon Patient Folder has also improved the workflow in the health information department and resolved after-hour issues according to Patty Kettenton, director of health information management at KVCH.

Patient information is secured by a Secure Sockets Layer, an encrypted code that is used to secure web-based applications in e-commerce, communications, and interactions for Web sites, intranets and extranets.