By Jan Landon
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

A fat file of paper medical records is carted from the chart room, down the hall,  and plopped with a thud on the doctor’s desk. He needed the file an hour ago, but moving that quickly isn’t always possible with traditional recordkeeping. This patient’s information joins the mountainous pile needing the doctor’s attention.

A few quick touches on the computer keyboard are all it will take for the doctor at the Tallgrass Creek medical center to find the information she needs. Medical history, laboratory results, a list of prescriptions, and more are in front of her on the computer screen. She finds all the necessary information immediately.

Cutting-edge technology
Centricity—the electronic medical records system that will be part of the medical center at Tallgrass Creek—is as efficient as it is cutting-edge.

National statistics show that much of health care is hustling to initiate electronic recordkeeping systems. In 2005, only about 25% of office-based doctors  reported using electronic medical records, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics. Erickson is already there.

All health needs met
“We’re making an investment in community members’ safety and health,” says John Harned, executive director of Tallgrass Creek when discussing Centricity. “It’s going to simplify their lives and improve their health and wellness, and we are committed to that.”

Electronic medical records systems like Centricity handle real-life situations—  working efficiently for both routine health needs and emergencies.

Community members are impressed with how Centricity operates, says Lisa Nantze, practice manager at the medical center at Highland Springs, an  Erickson community in Dallas, Tex. For example, if a resident wants to know if a lab report has come back, the medical center staff at Highland Springs simply check the computer file.