Admission Assessment and Flowsheets added to the Electronic Medical Record

The Electronic Medical Record (EMR) is now the legal medical record for Admission Assessment and Flowsheets. This is a successful first step toward the automation of inpatient clinical data and is part of UC Davis Health System’s goal of creating greater continuity of care for patients.

Night-shift nurses finished the EMR preload process three hours ahead of schedule with tutorial assistance from the EMR team. Unit-based SuperUsers reported a smooth implementation. Managers were impressed at how quickly clinicians caught on to working in the EMR. A sense of camaraderie between SuperUsers and clinicians quickly developed as clinicians submitted great ideas for optimization of the new tool.

“Two main improvements gained from the EMR are the Emergency Department (ED) Admit Report and the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) Summary Report, where patient information is summarized upon hospital admission, enabling consistent flow of essential clinical information,” reported Tom Tinstman, executive director of clinical information systems. “UC Davis Health System admits roughly 10,000 patients from each of these areas annually. We know we have improved patient care for, literally, thousands of patients.”