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Bendigo Health Implementing InterSystems TrakCare as Electronic Medical Record and Clinical Information System

Announcement posted by InterSystems 05 Feb 2016

New Digital Bendigo Regional Hospital Expects to Achieve Service Improvement, Quality of Clinical Care and Safety Benefits

SYDNEY, Australia – 5 February, 2016 – InterSystems, a global leader in health information technology, today announced that Bendigo Health is implementing the InterSystems TrakCare® unified healthcare information system as the electronic medical record (EMR) and clinical information system for the new Bendigo Hospital, set to open in early 2017.  TrakCare is scheduled to go live in late 2017.


The Bendigo Hospital Project is the largest regional hospital development in the state of Victoria. Its aim is to create a world class digital hospital incorporating the latest design and technology solutions with InterSystems TrakCare chosen to support effective, efficient and consistent healthcare delivery.


“The project will see a transition from mainly paper-based processes and records to a paper light, digital healthcare environment,” said Rob McCathie, Program Manager Electronic Medical Records/Information Services at Bendigo Health. “The system also needs to be flexible and enable leverage across the Loddon Mallee region if required.”


TrakCare will provide comprehensive clinical functionality, including advanced clinical decision support, for almost all of the hospital’s clinical departments. InterSystems will initially integrate Bendigo Health’s existing pathology, radiology, pharmacy and maternity systems with TrakCare, with pharmacy and maternity scheduled to be phased out and replaced with TrakCare. TrakCare will also integrate Bendigo Health’s existing patient administration system, with an option to replace it with TrakCare.


Bendigo Health expects the EMR system to help improve the quality of care and safety it provides to patients. Under its EMR business case, it has identified benefits in the areas of service improvement, quality of clinical care and safety benefits. These align with the organisation’s strategy and the policies and frameworks of the Victorian and Australian governments.


“We are aiming to achieve time savings for our clinical staff by giving them faster access to information and integrating systems so information is entered once rather than multiple times into different systems,” said McCathie. “A patient portal will support better care planning and improve patient engagement in the care-giving process.”


An Internet-based electronic medical record – delivered from a single TrakCare data repository – will give care providers all the information they need, whenever and wherever they need it. Care providers will be more effective and more efficient, with less time and effort spent delivering and accessing information. Staff will avoid delays associated with waiting for paper records, people in different locations will be able to view records at the same time, there will be reduced risk of losing records and – supporting a hospital design free from paper storage – they will save space.


Bendigo Health is aiming to streamline clinical processes and improve patient safety through electronic medical records, test ordering and medication management. An example of this is that clinical decision support systems will alert staff to potential medication prescribing errors, and will monitor what is administered to patients.


Doctors and nurses will benefit from a single TrakCare clinical system with a consistent user interface and no need to log on to or switch between multiple systems. They will see all their work and receive all their notifications in the same place, wherever they are, on whatever device they are using. At the same time, supervisors can ensure that diagnostic test results, for example, are acted upon in a timely manner.


Data analytics and executive dashboards will help hospital staff to monitor and meet important national standards for patient safety and performance, without relying on manual supervision of processes by staff, freeing them up to concentrate on patient care.


TrakCare will also provide a Web-based patient portal to give patients an easy-to-understand view of their health information and a safe, secure way of communicating with the hospital about appointments and medications, while sharing relevant information with family members.


“InterSystems is proud to be working with Bendigo Health on this major project, which benefits the lives of so many people living in the area,” said Kerry Stratton, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, of InterSystems. “Bendigo Health joins a vibrant and growing community of TrakCare users in Victoria who benefit from a truly global healthcare information system with a substantial support and development team based in Australia.”


About InterSystems

InterSystems provides the information engines that power some of the world's most important applications. In healthcare, finance, government, and other sectors where lives and livelihoods are at stake, InterSystems has been a strategic technology provider since 1978. InterSystems is a privately held company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA), with offices worldwide, and its software products are used daily by millions of people in more than 100 countries. Visit InterSystems.com.au.