A Patient eSignature Case Study
Freeman Health
Seamless integration between Access and MEDITECH
Introduction
Freeman Health in Joplin, Mo., is a 460-bed, three-hospital system providing comprehensive healthcare and behavioral health services to an area that includes more than 450,000 from Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas.
The health system composes Freeman Hospital West, Freeman Hospital East, Freeman Neosho Hospital and Ozark Center, their behavioral health division. Freeman’s medical team, which includes more than 300 physicians representing 60 specialties, uses the latest techniques, best practices, and technologies to give life-saving care close to home.
PATIENT ESIGNATURE Case Study Highlights
- Seamless integration between Access and MEDITECH creates a fast, paperless registration process
- Rapid deployment helped ensure simultaneous go-live of eForms and eSignatures with new version of MEDITECH’s EHR
- Replacing previous eForms vendor gives patients and hospital staff the ease and convenience of a user-friendly interface backed by the power of the latest eForms and electronic signatures technology
- Responsive support and project management helps hospital meet project deadlines
Quick Facts
Location: Joplin, MO
Integration: MEDITECH’s EHR
Focus: Paperless patient registration
Departments: Patient access and registration
Access solutions: Intelligent eForms, Electronic Signatures and Process Automation
Improving Patient Engagement
With Access, a Freeman staff member registers the patient in MEDITECH’s EHR, and the Access system automatically generates the required forms with a lot of information prefilled. The patient simply completes and electronically signs the forms, which are then automatically routed into their electronic chart in MEDITECH.
“My personal motivation is to improve our engagement with patients plus reduce their wait times and stress,” said Freeman Health CIO Skip Rollins. “So, if we can apply technology to the workflow that results in the patient’s experience being more pleasant or less frustrating, we’re going to do that every time. Using Access, MEDITECH and some of our other vendors, we’re making that patient experience a more streamlined, organized and efficient process.”
Freeman Health is committed to providing the best possible service to its patients. As such, it is creating multisystem environments that enable patients to get the care they need as quickly as possible and allow staff members to focus on what they’re best at, instead of pushing paper. That’s why they chose Access’s paperless eForms on demand and electronic signatures solution.
Previously, Freeman Health printed multiple paper forms for each new or returning patient who presented to the front desk. The patient then filled in each one and signed it, after which the registrar would scan the forms into the electronic health record. This was a time-consuming, manual process.
With Access, a Freeman staff member registers the patient in MEDITECH’s EHR, and the Access system automatically generates the required forms with a lot of information prefilled. The patient simply completes and electronically signs the forms, which are then automatically routed into their electronic chart in MEDITECH.
The Benefits of Going Paperless
The benefits don’t end with the patient, but also extend to Freeman’s registration team. One of the reasons that the registration process now runs so smoothly is the tight integration between Access eForms and MEDITECH’s EHR.
“I’ve been really impressed with the partnership between Access and MEDITECH,” Akins said. “You can tell that they have worked together to create a streamlined integration between their products. The partnership between companies has really benefited us as the end user.”
“Being paperless is a big deal for our registrars,” said Julie Akins, business analyst at Freeman Health. “Having all the forms in an electronic format and eliminating the need to shuffle all that paperwork is a really big win for them. Now that we have the Access solution, registrars don’t have to print out the forms, have the patient sign them, and then scan them back into the system. The patient just signs the forms electronically and they go right into their record.”
Upgraded Customer Service
Freeman Health previously worked with another eForms provider, but they are glad that they switched to Access. Looking ahead, Freeman Health hopes to extend Access’s electronic signatures solution to patient bedsides.
“I think the patient experience would be enhanced if we brought the Access system to the bedside,” Rollins said. “Rather than asking a patient to go to the admissions desk and sign paperwork, they’d have the ability to do it in a more convenient and timely way. When you’re ready to leave the hospital, the last thing you want to do is have to stop somewhere and sign a bunch of forms. With Access eSignature, there wouldn’t be that delay anymore.”
“I’d recommend Access to any hospital needing eForms and electronic signatures because of their outstanding customer support and commitment to their customers.”
Julie Akins
Freeman Health Business Analyst
Conclusion
“From a leadership perspective, I would tell you that it was a much less stressful experience for me and the staff in IT to put Access’s product in place than what we went through with our previous vendor,” Rollins said. “Access came in at a point when we were working on a really time-sensitive, critical project, and we needed something to happen in a good way. We saw an opportunity to engage with Access and we’re very happy we made that decision.”
