Becker’s Hospital Review recently spoke with two leaders from Billings Clinic-Logan Health — Justin Ott, Chief Information Officer, and Randy Thompson, MD, Chief Health Analytics Officer — to learn how the organization is leveraging technology to improve both the patient and clinician experience through integration.
Quicker, easier EHR integration is a must for large health systems
After the Billings Clinic-Logan Health merger, one of the organization’s top priorities was creating a truly integrated EHR to better coordinate patient care and focus on delivering high quality compassionate care to all patients.
One of the key challenges for the health system is the large geographical area they cover. To put this into perspective, Dr. Thompson illustrates that their home state of Montana covers an area equivalent to the distance between Chicago and Washington, DC, almost 700 miles.
“Whether it’s from home through virtual care, at their local clinic or hospital or as a referral at one of our two tertiary care centers, we want to deliver high-quality care, no matter where patients show up,” Dr. Thompson said.
In response, the Billings Clinic-Logan Health team started the process of determining what technology and which vendors could help them create an integrated EHR to streamline information and workflows between their vast network of facilities. To evaluate, the organization focused on how implementing a new EHR system would impact clinicians, caregivers, and patients, how fast and easily the system could be implemented, the associated costs and current and future functionality.
With clear goals and requirements in mind, Billings Clinic-Logan Health chose Oracle Health because of the company’s proven track record in healthcare, plans for AI technology, database expertise and focus on cybersecurity. The organization also appreciated Oracle Health’s approach to Application Programming Interfaces that enable communication and integration, and advanced interoperability capabilities to support seamless integration across facilities.
“Oracle Health was able to simplify the technology that we needed to be successful and utilize it across multiple platforms,” Mr. Ott said. “As a result, we don’t have to interface between different systems, which can be challenging and a high level of effort.”
Oracle Health’s EHR offers an intuitive interface that significantly eases user adoption. The EHR experience breaks down data silos by unifying data sources like claims data, pharmacy record and more to create a comprehensive, longitudinal patient record. This empowers clinicians to make better-informed decisions and improve patient outcomes.
With Oracle Health’s integrated EHR system, Billings Clinic-Logan Health can now easily share information across the enterprise and standardize care based on best practices. The smallest clinics and critical access hospitals have access to the same applications and technology-based tools as the larger centers in the network. Empowering providers in rural settings with advanced technologies has been rewarding and powerful.
“We have the ability to support common, evidence-based order sets that are shared across sites,” Dr. Thompson said. “As a result, providers can order and deliver high-quality care no matter where a patient is seen.”
AI helps physicians be the best they can be
Billings Clinic-Logan Health’s philosophy is to integrate AI into as many clinical and financial solutions as possible – something that Oracle Health is already building directly into their EHR. The organization joined the Oracle Health Clinical AI Agent beta program to actively participate in the evaluation and development of AI for healthcare.
“Oracle Health did what they promised to do — they delivered a good solution on time and we have rolled it out widely,” Dr. Thompson said. “We now have over 150 providers representing more than 16 specialties using AI.”
Billings Clinic-Logan Health found that Oracle Health Clinical AI Agent reduced documentation work and the associated cognitive burden for providers. Many physicians now go home on time with their notes done for the day. They can spend time with their families, rather than devoting hours of “pajama time” completing their documentation.
“People have told me that they feel like the tool has really unburdened them from a mental standpoint,” Dr. Thompson said. “They are less fatigued at the end of the day, have more energy and their job satisfaction has improved.”
Among the providers using the AI-based solution, documentation deficiency rates have also vanished.
“They’re no longer on the ‘naughty list’ for not getting documentation done on time,” Dr. Thompson said.
Why selecting the right vendor matters
One of the things that led to success at Billings Clinic-Logan Health, was extensive research into what they needed from technology provider to reach their desired outcomes.
“You must objectively evaluate the systems that you’re considering,” Mr. Ott said. “Just because you’re already using one doesn’t mean it’s the right one for your organization. Establish the criteria for what you want to accomplish and set short- and long-term goals.”
The importance of listening to teams on the front lines can’t be underestimated. Based on their interactions with clinicians, frontline staff usually have many insights that can inform which solution and which vendor will be best suited for the organization. It’s also essential to understand each vendor’s strategy for the future.
“Is the vendor happy with the status quo? Are they pushing the limits of what’s available? Are they making things that could revolutionize healthcare? Those are all things that you want to understand,” Mr. Ott said.
For Billings Clinic-Logan Health, Oracle Health differentiated itself from others through its commitment to healthcare – more than just a technology vendor. The health system has made a joint commitment to strengthen its relationship with Oracle Health and align organizational goals for the next 10 years.
“When you bring this type of technology to your healthcare organization, it’s of the utmost importance to have a real strategic partner by your side,” Mr. Ott said. “Oracle Health understands the importance of end-user feedback and they act on that information. We believe we’ll be very successful with them moving forward.”