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Single-Screen Access to Multiple Fields
St. Francis Health Center (SFHC) had
been using a registry system for nearly a decade when Terry Hinz
arrived in 2001 to serve as the center’s tumor registrar. She
had to learn to use the existing system, but she never learned
to like it, so in 2003 she was delighted when SFHC replaced it
with Précis-Hospital. “With the other system, only one field was
viewable at a time; to get a patient’s full name, one screen was
necessary for the first name and then one screen for the last
name. Now, with Précis, multiple fields can be viewed on a
single screen and within seconds we can get what used to take
five minutes to piece together. The IMPAC system enables us to
quickly and efficiently make a complete patient record,” stated
Hinz.
More Data, Faster
“The more data we have, the better our statistics and
the more valuable the information—which is useful both for those
treating cancer patients and the patients themselves,” Hinz
noted. She added that Précis is a big improvement over the
previous registry system when it comes to assembling relevant
data. “The old system required sorting by numbers, so we had to
memorize the numbers associated with different fields. Nothing
was intuitive, so everything had to be learned. Précis makes
cumbersome searching unnecessary; data is easily sorted by tabs
at the top of screens, which facilitates flipping from page to
page within a screen. Since the system is so much more intuitive
and user-friendly, it doesn’t require such a steep learning
curve,” she said.
Flexible Reporting Options
In July 2003, SFHC implemented the reports function, which
makes reports easy to download and send to the state. Hinz said
that she is particularly thrilled by the sorting options such as
by geography, type of cancer, primary site, histology, and
patient occupation. “We can even add own categories, for
example, where patients went on vacations, and use any data that
can be extracted from medical records.”
EMR Integration
Hinz said that she looks forward to integrating registry data
with IMPAC’s radiation and medical oncology systems.
“Integration wasn’t even a possibility with our old system, but
the benefits
of having all patient data integrated under IMPAC will not only
save time and money but enable it to be shared among all
departments, reducing the risk that anything could be overlooked
with respect to patient care. Ultimately, patient care is what’s
most important,” Hinz stated. |
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Terry Hinz (above, right) confers with Mary, a tumor registrar
with St. Francis Health Center, Topeka, KS |
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