Salem Township Hospital President Alex Nazarian has announced a major upgrade is coming to how patients can interact with the hospital and its medical providers.
Nazarian told the hospital board Wednesday afternoon they have contracted with Epic to provide a more robust system to replace the current Athena system.
“They have ‘My Chart’ which is the app used by patients to manage their health. So, they can make appointments, reschedule appointments, communicate with their physician, get their lab tests, images, etc. It’s a very robust app. We are very excited our patients will have access to that.”
Nazarian says there are also advantages to the hospital.
“It will work in conjunction with other providers in the area so we have easier access to ask for records when we are providing care to the patient.”
Nazarian says Epic has 49 percent of the market in providing the services that are already used by all other area hospitals. He expects the rollout to begin in January.
Nazarian says the hospital has also started using a system to deliver health care information to screens in the reception area and doctor waiting areas of the West Whitaker facility. It allows patients to select what information they would like to view on various healthcare issues. The system is being provided to the hospital free of charge and could be expanded to other patient areas.
The hospital had another good month financially in September, exceeding budget and the prior year while still providing $286,000 in charity care. The number of inpatient days also increased after a number of slow months. 178 patient days were recorded, still slightly under budget.
Nazarian is also pleased the percentage of patients who would recommend the hospital to others has increased to 88.7 percent. That’s slightly above the 88.5-percent goal set for the year.
