Phoebe Putney Health System records system onboarding continues

ALBANY — The transition continues for the Meditech system, and it is still going as well as could be expected, officials with Phoebe Putney Health System say.

An update was given on the electronic records system, while reviewing a credentials report, at a Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Professional Affairs Committee meeting on Monday.

Dr. William Sewell, chief medical information officer at the hospital, said 6,000 electronic orders have been put in every day at the health system’s main campus in the first 25 days since the Oct. 1 launch. This makes for a compliance rate of 78 percent, he said.

The rate is 85 percent at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, and 87.53 percent at Phoebe Worth Medical Center in Sylvester. The expectation, Sewell said, would be for it to level out in the low-to mid-90s.

Training deficits have contributed to the refusal of some physicians to use it, and training opportunities remain available to staff, Sewell said.

The onboarding of the system has allowed management to easier see things regarding nurse and physician workload. Feedback also continues from those using Meditech, which Sewell said is being addressed as it can be.

“All feedback is logged in and taken seriously,” he said. “It is all addressed and ordered by priority … but we will take care of it all in some form or fashion.”

Sewell indicated there is several months of work still to be done. In the meantime, support personnel are circulating around the floors in green vests.

Sewell said the hope is to have everyone up to speed by Nov. 7

“Our consultants say we are doing fine, but we are not there yet,” Sewell said.

The credentials report presented to the committee included seven physicians hoping to gain privileges, including two coming in on a temporary basis to fill in for someone else.

Dr. Gaston da Costa is filling in at Phoebe Neurology Associates, while Dr. Sara Knabe is filling in a internist position. Dr. Gregory Kalv is coming in as consulting staff from Georgia Regents University. Dr. Marcy Macy is coming into Phoebe Physical Medicine, Dr. Mishanta Reyes is going into Mirian Worthy Women’s Health Center, Dr. Brett Scott is practicing with Vital Smiles Georgia and Dr. Gregory Starr is going into emergency medicine.