Some patients of Springfield, Mass.-based Baystate Mercy Hospital report canceled appointments and difficulty getting prescription refills after Springfield-based Baystate Health took over the hospital Nov. 1 and moved it to a new EHR, according to a Nov. 10 WWLP report. Physician departures have led to cancellations, leaving some patients facing waits of several months to establish care with a new provider, according to the station.
One individual told WWLP that her mother’s primary care physician left the practice and her appointment was canceled. When she called to reschedule with a physician assistant and get a blood pressure medication refilled, she said she was told her mother was no longer a patient and the practice would not refill any medications. She said she turned to Northampton-based Mass General Cooley Dickinson Primary Care, where a new primary care physician refilled the medication until an appointment in March. The individual said Baystate had sent a letter assuring patients the transition would be smooth.
Baystate said in a statement to the station that it implemented its new Oracle Health EHR at the same time it integrated Baystate Mercy Hospital, which it described as two of the most significant changes the system has undertaken in more than a decade. The system said it deployed hundreds of transition partners, including at-the-elbow support from Oracle. Registration is taking longer and wait times are extended at times but improving, according to Baystate. The system said several primary care practices are accepting new patients and encouraged patients having difficulty with diagnostic testing to contact their provider. More than 20,000 patients have enrolled in its new MyBaystate Health portal, it said.
Baystate completed its takeover of the 182-bed Mercy Medical Center, now Baystate Mercy Hospital, from Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health on Nov. 1 and moved the hospital, its joint venture affiliates and 45 medical group entities to Oracle Health the same day. CEO Peter Banko, who had called the go-live a “big bang” rollout, said the system’s next major step was the all-at-once Oracle Health launch. The deal was valued at $293 million, based on Mercy’s operating revenue.
