Tribal Health went live with Epic
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News from CSKT Tribal Health
ST. IGNATIUS — On March 19, 2018, Tribal Health officially went Epic. Epic is the new electronic health records system adopted by Tribal Health to improve the delivery of health care services to recipients and better meet their needs. The tribe moved to this new system because in the near future the old system, RPMS will no longer work. As CSKT Tribal Health continues to pioneer a new way of delivering health care to our community, Tribal Health has adopted this new electronic health record called Epic that will better suit the needs of Tribal Health recipients.
Epic was chosen to improve the health care and records of all Tribal Health recipients by making records more easily available and consistent. Epic also streamlines workflows of staff and health care providers by improving the business processes to help bring Tribal Health to a new standard of delivering health care to the community.
An Electronic Health Record is an electronic record of a recipient’s health care history, maintained by the health care provider over time including demographics, progress notes, problem lists, medications, vital signs, past medical history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports.
Epic will help strengthen the relationship between recipients and their health care providers. With Epic, there is better access to data, allowing health care providers to make better decisions and provide better care. For example, Epic will improve recipient care by:
Reducing the potential of medical errors by improving the accuracy and clarity of medical records; making the health information more available to the provider(s), reducing duplication of tests, reducing delays in treatment, and assisting recipients to be better informed to make better health related decisions.
Tribal Health is working hand-in-hand with technical staff to make the transition to Epic smooth. Staff are being trained in the new systems and as the staff learns the new system, we ask for patience from the community, as we work to improve your health care services with the adoption of this new electronic health records system.
Tribal Health recipients will get additional access to their health care information through Epic.
Epic allows for the implementation of an online connection to recipients’ health care providers, through software called MyChart. MyChart is a free service that gives secure, online access to a recipient’s health care team and medical record — wherever and whenever they want.
With MyChart, recipients will be able to: review medications, immunizations and medical history; communicate with their health care team; request prescription renewals; review results for most tests; get clinic after-visit summaries; and schedule the next primary care appointment.
One valuable aspect of Epic includes the ability to correspond more effectively with other health care providers in the region. With the new electronic health records system, Tribal Health can also access recipient data from outside of Tribal Health such as radiology images, and lab results to name a few. Another great benefit to being more integrated with the regional health care network is that Tribal Health recipients will now get more timely access (i.e., immediately as needed) to MRI and mammograms verses waiting for the mobile units that parked outside of the Tribal Health facilities every two weeks.
There are other software programs that will fit into the new Tribal Health electronic health records system besides Epic. Tribal Health is unique - due to funding sources and the rich network of services that are offered - Tribal Health is adopting other systems to integrate with Epic to make the business of delivering health care services to recipients run smoothly.
Some of the new software includes Pioneer (for the Pharmacy program); Dentrix (for the Dental program) and Nuvodia (an Inland Imaging program for the new Personal Archiving Communications System also called PACS for viewing radiology images).
If there are any questions or concerns, Tribal Health asks recipients to call Yvonne Conko, Tribal Health, at 406-745-3525 ext. 5021.
