NNA – The American University of Beirut (AUB) announced that its Medical Center will soon transition to the Epic electronic health record system (EHR), during a signing ceremony held on August 1, 2016 at AUB-New York Office.
The American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) will become the first Medical Center to adopt the newest generation and most advanced Electronic Health Record System in Lebanon. This will be a major leap forward to AUBMC in achieving its 2020 Vision and delivering the most advanced patient care to its patients.
The integrated health information system will allow seamless sharing of information among all health units, patients and partner hospitals, setting new standards of care delivery.
“For the past 150 years, AUB has played a key role in shaping the healthcare landscape and expertise in the country. By introducing the latest advancements and technology through our Medical Center and ensuring our education system builds talent on par with international standards, we continue to deliver high quality care to meet the needs of patients in Lebanon and the region,” said Dr. Fadlo R. Khuri, AUB President, “Our partnership with Epic is another strategic alliance that will help us to continue to deliver on our mission and commitment to the overall healthcare system in Lebanon.”
“Another milestone is added to the achievements of AUBMC as we come closer to fulfilling the commitment we took in 2010 with the AUBMC 2020 vision,” said Dr. Mohamed H. Sayegh, Executive VP for Medicine and Global Strategy and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. “AUBMC is uniquely positioned to play an exclusive role as the leading academic medical center in Lebanon and the region. This comes as a testament that AUBMC has always maintained its role as a central destination for patients, for the highest standards of patient-centered care, quality and safety that it offers.” he added.
In addition to streamlining the work flow, reducing paperwork and risk of errors seamlessly while maintaining the patient’s security and confidentiality, the platform will provide a numerous number of benefits to the patient traveling to multiple offices and hospital locations. Care Everywhere, Epic’s EHR-based interoperability network supports the secure exchange of patient information between sites and EpicLink allows approved affiliates to view the record online to enhance consistency and accuracy. Other benefits involve best practice alerts, the ability to identify health trends or issues with a particular medication, and early detection of a disease outbreak in our community.
“AUB Health will transform the way we deliver care at the Medical Center,” added AUB Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Ramin Sedehi. “This will play a pivotal role in enhancing the overall experience at AUBMC, especially our patient care.”
The new system will create a single patient record that both caregivers and patients will be able to access. The EHR aims to maximize efficiency by reducing the need for duplicate tests and patients having to give the same information to multiple caregivers. Patient privacy will be even more protected than it would be with a written record.
The biggest convenience for patients is Epic’s MyChart, a free app accessible via smartphone or computer, that allows patients to schedule appointments, refill prescriptions, directly message their care providers with the option of including photos, access lab results, and more.
To further enhance care coordination among providers, while also supporting the long-term growth plan for its clinic business, the storage system will revolutionize the way doctors and health workers access and share a patient’s medical information by including medical history, medications, insurance and billing information.
The rollout of ‘AUB Health’ is expected to begin in October 2016, and will be fully implemented during the last quarter of year 2018.
AUBMC’s collaboration with Epic will give it access to the same protocols and standards of management used by top universities and health systems in the U.S. such as John Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, Duke Health, University of Pennsylvania Health System, University of Rochester Medical Center, UCLA Health, Stanford Health, to name a few. This state-of-the-art technology will impact all AUBMC employees and physicians, and serve as an instrumental part of AUBMC’s strategic growth plan that aims to implement the program at affiliated hospitals.
