Electronic Medical Records

Taking Charge of Change

Clinical Systems Liaisons Help Coordinate Patient Care

Jessie Murphy, RN, and Debbie Horan, RN, are the human faces – and human interfaces – connecting UH clinicians to some of health care’s most advanced patient-care technology.

The two UHCare Clinical Systems Liaisons teach physicians and nurses how to get the most out of UHCare, an electronic medical record system that coordinates and standardizes patient care across UH’s wholly owned medical centers.

Transitioning from paper records to UHCare promises patients better experiences and safer, more coordinated, more cost-effective care. Ten UH Clinical Systems Liaisons help make the imposing change manageable. By using veteran caregivers instead of computer technicians to teach fellow clinicians, UH established a new industry best practice.

“We’re clinicians, too, so we understand and anticipate what doctors and nurses need,” says Ms. Horan, who works at UH Seidman Cancer Center.

In 2012, the liaisons helped UH achieve federal implementation milestones and earn $16.1 million in incentive payments.

The doctors appreciate their guidance, says obstetrician/gynecologist Nancy Cossler, MD, Vice Chair for Quality and Patient Safety at UH MacDonald Women’s Hospital. ”There has been a lot of need for education – and that will continue,” she says. “It’s incredibly valuable to us to have people like Jessie and Debbie to help us adopt the new technology.”

L to R: Debbie Horan, RN, Jessie Murphy, RN, and Nancy Cossler, MD