Patient medical record integration plans encompassing all of Johns Hopkins Medicine

Dear Colleague,

It is with a sense of promise that we write to you today about an improvement to our patient medical record system—a development that, when realized, will enhance patient safety and care throughout Johns Hopkins Medicine for years to come.

Recently JHM board committees, contingent on final Board approval, authorized us to proceed with plans to enter into an agreement with Epic, a Wisconsin-based software company that specializes in clinical and financial systems. Our initial rollout, Ambulatory First, will create a common electronic medical record for specialists and primary care physicians at our academic medical centers, Green Spring Station, Odenton, White Marsh and all of our Community Physician sites over the next three years.

Our aim is to eventually create one unified patient record system for our entire enterprise, and we will continue to look for systemwide opportunities for the Epic system to support our health care reform initiatives and goals. To that end, we have asked leaders from across the system to work with us to plan the next phase and will share with you the details when they are confirmed.

As it stands now, we have more than a dozen patient record systems across our institutions. If a patient visits Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and Green Spring Station in the same week, for example, then visits Howard County General Hospital a few days later, the physicians at each location have access to the patient's information, but it is stored in separate records. Epic's system integrates these documents into one and builds in automatic alerts about certain critical aspects of care, such as medication allergies.

The Epic system will bolster our quality and safety measures, make it easier to navigate our increasingly complex records, and help us coordinate patient scheduling and registration. Of equal importance, it will free our clinicians to better personalize the care that we offer our patients: The less time that we spend discerning records, the clearer our focus can be on the patients we serve.

You'll soon get another update about this important development and how you can play a role in the budding evolution of Epic across Johns Hopkins Medicine. We will continue to keep you apprised as we carefully and cost-effectively roll out this vital initiative.

Sincerely,

Edward D. Miller, M.D.
Dean of the Medical Faculty
CEO, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Ronald R. Peterson
President
The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System
EVP, Johns Hopkins Medicine