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In 2003, Iowa Cancer Care (ICC), a private medical oncology
practice in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with five physicians and one
nurse practitioner, became interested in electronic medical
records (EMRs) to improve efficiency. Over the course of the
following year, a team from ICC evaluated vendors and chose the
IMPAC oncology management system. “The IMPAC system possessed
many components that we could grow into, was easy to navigate,
and its format was very similar to the one we were already
using,” explains Linda Arneson, director of nursing. “IMPAC was
also far more concise than other products, which took too long
to scroll through to get where you wanted to be,” she adds.
Timely Support
ICC began by implementing IMPAC’s laboratory information system
and scheduling modules, gradually adding modules for
transcription, chemotherapy ordering, and
physician-nurse-pharmacology documentation. “What helped us was
using WebEx® sessions with IMPAC’s support team,” recalls
Arneson. “If problems are not resolved immediately, we would
hear from that person soon after and he or she would stay with
us until the problem was solved.” IMPAC support can continue to
problem solve through Arneson’s computer in her absence, freeing
her to continue her other work.
Increased Efficiency
Benefits from the systems are many. Doctors get date-by-date
reports with several labs on a single screen, facilitating the
tracking of patients’ response to treatments. Quicker processes,
faster lab results, and easier order entry increase efficiency,
which is important for ICC’s rapid patient flow. With nurses
billing for their services online and charges going directly
into billing, charges formerly lost are now captured; many
charges are built into protocols and automatically drop into the
billing system.
Easy to Use
Nurses like the efficiency of the EMR, which contains necessary
demographic information for scheduling and easy access to lab
results and other essential data. For patients needing
hospitalization, nurses quickly print out information useful for
the admitting physician. Telephone triage is easier since all
information is available when patients phone in. Arneson
particularly likes IMPAC’s clinician worksheet feature, which
makes it easier to change protocols and automatically modifies
dosages to accommodate patient toxicities. According to Arneson
“We can see that the more processes we put on IMPAC, the more
efficient we’ll get.”
Winning Compliments
The ICC staff are not alone in admiring results from IMPAC
systems. Recalling a local physician who had stopped oncologist
Dr. Abby Thrower in a hospital hallway to compliment her
referring letter composed with IMPAC’s PhAST Note™, Arneson adds
that “impressing referring docs is a very good thing.” |
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