Submitted by Brooke Marshall

Crisp Regional Health Services

CORDELE– Crisp Regional Health, Inc. has selected Cerner, a global leader in health care technology, to implement a new integrated electronic health record (EHR) and revenue cycle management solutions across its acute, ambulatory and post-acute facilities. This collaboration will provide Crisp Regional a platform to connect the community through health care technology, an effort that will support streamlined operations and improved patient care.

“We are excited about our decision to move to Cerner,” said Jessica Carter, vice president, chief financial officer, Crisp Regional. “Cerner provides us with one integrated health record across all venues of care, supporting our goal of clinical and financial optimization throughout our system.”

“We are committed to providing the highest quality of care possible to Crisp County and surrounding communities,” said Dr. Lynn Lyons, chief of staff elect, Crisp Regional. “Cerner understands our long-term vision, and we value its position and commitment to transforming health care IT across the globe. Together we will leverage an advanced IT system to work toward our measurable goals of increased physician visibility and strong patient outcomes.”

Crisp Regional will transition to Cerner Millennium^®, a health care IT platform designed to support an individual’s care journey – from the doctor’s office to the hospital and outpatient clinics – with consistent patient engagement. Doctors and nurses will have a more complete, near real-time view of an individual’s heath. Through the new online patient portal, patients and their families will be able to securely message doctors, schedule appointments, view and settle balances and access their health history. With Cerner’s Clinically Driven Revenue Cycle™ solutions, Crisp Regional clinicians will be able to view clinical and financial data in one patient record. In addition, Crisp Regional will benefit from documentation that can improve reimbursement and limit claims errors.

“Crisp Regional is making an important investment in technology to keep pace with the rapidly changing health care landscape and provide comprehensive care to the people it serves,” said Zane Burke, president, Cerner. “Cerner supports Crisp Regional’s commitment to patient- and family-centered care at a reasonable cost, connecting health and social service facilities to create an improved patient experience.”

Cerner CommunityWorks℠ leverages cloud technology to deliver the power of Cerner Millennium, tailored to support the unique needs of community, critical access and specialty hospitals. An innovative deployment model, CommunityWorks helps to simplify the complexities of managing, operating and upgrading an EHR. With CommunityWorks, Crisp Regional will also have access to its application management services, meaningful use and regulatory services and evidence-based recommended workflows and content.

“Cerner CommunityWorks will bring Crisp Regional a sophisticated, single integrated health record across the continuum of care for all our patients, regardless of where they receive care in our system,” said Mitch Hiers, director of IT, Crisp Regional. “While that’s a welcome improvement for patients, physicians and clinicians, we also look forward to the many technological advancements it brings with it – especially in terms of interoperability, decision support, population health and data analytics. The delivery model provides a number of advantages over our current system and should be easier to manage and support from an IT perspective.”

Named one of Georgia’s “top medium-sized hospitals” by Georgia Trend Magazine and one of the nation’s “top 100 rural and community hospitals” by iVantage, Crisp Regional’s comprehensive network of health and social service facilities includes a home health program, two nursing homes totaling 243 beds, a retirement home, a hospice and home care program, a dialysis facility and rural health clinics in bordering areas. More than 50 physicians practice within Crisp Regional, providing hospital and outpatient care in family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine and 20-plus other specialties and subspecialties.

“Crisp Regional continues to provide excellent care and build the quality of life in its community. Cerner is excited to support its clinicians in connecting with their community and enhancing the patient experience,” said Mitchell Clark, president, CommunityWorks, senior vice president, Cerner. “Being from Georgia, I am especially proud to collaborate with Crisp Regional to deliver the people of Cordele, Crisp County and the surrounding area the health care they deserve close to home.”