(Spirit Lake)– Lakes Regional Healthcare has transitioned to an electronic health record system in its Emergency Department.
Director of Outpatient Services Lois Hawn says the transition has been in the works the past several months. She says it will result in improved patient safety.
Among its features is a medication reconciliation process that will allow hospital staff to know if medications prescribed in the Emergency Room may have an adverse reaction with other medications the patient is already taking. The system also provides patient discharge instructions that are no longer hand written and are easier to understand.
Hawn says the new electronic system is much more efficient as ER physicians can simply click on orders such as x-rays and lab tests instead of hand writing them.
