Medsphere Enhances OpenVista EHR System for Meaningful Use

Medsphere Systems Corporation, a pioneer in open-source healthcare enterprise solutions, today announced the generally available (GA) release of the enhanced OpenVista® electronic health record (EHR) platform, which is currently being installed across the Medsphere client base.

New OpenVista features enable doctors, nurses, technicians and other medical professionals to create their own views, dashboards and workflows enabling quick access to specific information needed to provide the best possible patient care.

“The improvements we’ve made enable clinicians using OpenVista to increase efficiency and improve clinical outcomes, which provides obvious benefit to both doctor and patient,” says Irv H. Lichtenwald, Medsphere president and CEO. “In addition, the upgraded OpenVista enables hospitals to achieve Meaningful Use and qualify for federal incentives. In fact, a hospital can pay for OpenVista with stimulus funds alone, making it the most financially cost effective of all certified EHRs.”

Among the hospitals receiving the upgrade is Midland Memorial, a 320-bed, HIMMS Analytics Stage 6 healthcare system in west Texas. Since implementing the OpenVista system and achieving near-paperless status, Midland has even greater access to patient information, which has enabled clinicians and staff to achieve improved clinical outcomes:

• Fewer patient deaths
• An 88 percent reduction in infection rates
• Fewer hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (bed sores)
• A 77 percent increase in compliance with ventilator care support that can lead to reduced hospital-acquired pneumonia
• Reduction in sepsis related to central venous access that can lead to reduced length of stay and death

“Because the OpenVista system costs about one-third the price of a typical proprietary platform, our decision was pretty easy from the start,” said David Whiles, director of information systems at Midland Memorial Hospital. “What really sold us, though, were two things: First, the system is very functionally rich and truly integrated. Second, and even more important, is that Medsphere is responsive to our needs and genuinely invested in our clinical success. We acquired an EHR system and it came with a team ready to provide the services necessary to make it work. This model can benefit all hospitals that don’t have tremendous resources."

Medsphere’s 9 – 12 month implementation process and other services facilitate fluid and rapid transition to a paperless clinical environment focusing on best practices and evidence-based medicine. The rapid implementation process enables hospitals to qualify for ARRA stimulus funds in the shortest possible timeframe. Additionally, the company actively nurtures a Healthcare Open Source Ecosystem of clients, partners, developers and other online collaborators who drive OpenVista innovation and provide a financially efficient parallel development and support structure.