Electronic health record moves forward
Integration of urgent care facilities is now complete
WEST READING » Tower Health has moved the implementation of its Epic electronic health record (EHR) system forward — by completing the integration of the system’s urgent care facilities into the platform.
Completion of this step is expected to aid in the health system’s ongoing response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by enhancing the role of the urgent care facilities.
Tower Health has announced that since March 18, all of the Tower Health Urgent Care locations have been fully integrated into Epic.
“With our 20 urgent care locations live on Epic, we are better prepared to provide seamlessly coordinated care for our patients,” Clint Matthews, Tower Health president and CEO, said in the release. “Now more than ever, a single, shared EHR bringing patient health information from
Tower Health care sites into one record is important. A shared patient record gives physicians and care teams across the system access to a comprehensive view of each patient’s health, which will in turn lead to more informed clinical decisions and improved outcomes.”
The shared medical record is also expected to drive common practices, protocols and care expectations across the system, according to Charles F. Barbera, MD, vice president of pre-hospital and unscheduled care at Tower Health, while fostering timely communication between providers.
“This is especially helpful in Tower Health’s response to COVID-19. The addition of Tower Health Urgent Care to our existing Epic platform means our patients will also be able to view any details from their visits to our urgent care locations in their MyTowerHealth patient portal,” he said.
“A shared patient record gives physicians and care teams across the system access to a comprehensive view of each patient’s health, which will in turn lead to more informed clinical decisions and improved outcomes.”
— Clint Matthews, Tower Health president and CEO
Tower Health Urgent Care was formed in late 2018 when Tower Health completed its acquisition of 19 facilities from Premier Urgent Care. The facilities are located in the health care provider’s southeast service area including Chester, Montgomery and Bucks counties.
The goal of the acquisition, according to the company, was to expand Tower Health’s services portfolio to span a complete continuum of care. When the acquisition was completed in Dec. 2018, Tower Health became the largest provider of urgent care services — based on weekly visits — in the metropolitan Philadelphia area.
Urgent care provides an important avenue for Tower Health patients to access healthcare services, particularly when their primary care provider is unavailable or if they do not have one. Having access to urgent care also helps to prevent unnecessary visits to an emergency room, the release stated.
The Berks County-based Tower Health owns seven of the region’s hospitals including: Brandywine Hospital in Caln Township, Chestnut Hill Hospital in Philadelphia, Jennersville Hospital in Penn Township in southern Chester County, Pottstown Hospital in Pottstown and Phoenixville Hospital in Phoenixville — which were acquired in 2017 — as well as Reading Hospital in West Reading and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, a partnership of Tower Health and Drexel University in Philadelphia. It also includes Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing; Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences in West Reading; and home healthcare services provided by Tower Health at Home.