CHW ups total EMR investment to $1 billion

Following a successful EMR implementation at eight California hospitals, Catholic Healthcare West will invest another $419 million to bring electronic records to its entire 27-hospital network and affiliated physicians over the next seven years. The additional outlay will bring the total project cost to slightly more than $1 billion.

The Meditech EMR, which includes CPOE and bar-coded medication administration, will help standardize care delivery, improve patient safety and broaden physician access to patient data. "This financial commitment is about preparing for a future that better integrates patient data with care delivery. Electronic health records will help ensure that we are able to provide quality, affordable healthcare in a compassionate setting," CHW President and CEO Lloyd Dean says, according to the San Francisco Business Journal.

It also represents a vendor switch, as CHW installed a Cerner EMR in its first eight hospitals.

CHW initially approved $590 million for the EMR project, but spent just $240 million to hook up the first eight hospitals. The per-hospital cost will be less for the expansion, according to CIO Ben Williams, because implementation teams have become more efficient since the project started.

For more:
- read this San Francisco Business Times story

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