Groundbreaking Changes to Improve Patient Care



TYLER, TX – Using the latest social media technology, Trinity Mother

Frances Hospitals and Clinics is inviting the publicto follow the launch

of the revolutionary electronic health record (EHR) technology,

ConnectCARE, live on Twitter on October 1. Those with a Twitter account

can follow the system’s public debut at @TMFHC and tune in for

aTwittercast beginning at 7 a.m. that includes updates, pictures and

videos.TMF’s Twittercast will be one of the first in the U.S. to launch

an EHR system.



During this wave of the launch, TMF will be activating ConnectCARE in

the Trinity Clinic physician offices, as well as for the processes of

scheduling, registering and billing patients. ConnectCARE will be

launched for acute patient care in the TMF hospitals in December.





Physicians, IT professionals and key medical personnel will Tweet the

public launch as itis happening, giving TMF patients the first window

into how ConnectCARE will make accessing their records and communicating

with their doctor’s office easier, faster and with less paper.





According to officials, the fundamental feature that ConnectCARE brings

is an integrated and unified patient-centered database. Patients will

benefit by having online access to much of their clinical information,

which will also be available to caregivers at every point of care across

the system: inpatient (starting in December), outpatient, ambulatory,

community, and regional locations. In addition, physicians can affiliate

with Trinity Mother Frances through the use of the EHR by adopting the

system in their practices.





With ConnectCARE, which is powered by Epic, clinicians also benefit from

a seamless and integrated set of electronic applications with convenient

access to information. The system is designed to facilitate and improve

the overall patient care experience at every Trinity MotherFrances

location.





Estimates indicate that over 250,000 physicians in the US now use an

Epic EHR and over 40% of patients in the U.S. have an Epic chart.

Officials said that the large number of providers choosing Epic is a

testament to the clinical acceptance of the system.





“This level of electronic integration is unprecedented and will

revolutionize many of the ways we currently provide patient care. The

implementation of theEHR is the single largest project every undertaken

during Trinity Mother Frances' 75 year history,” said Lindsey Bradley,

FACHE, president, Trinity MotherFrances Hospitals and Clinics.



“ConnectCARE improves the way we communicate with each another, our

patients and the public. This is a completely new way of communicating

about each patient's care and will result in care improvement and

improved employee workflow. It is a comprehensive single-system approach

that includes everything from registration, to clinical orders, medical

records and billing. This completely replaces most of our older systems,”

said Steven Keuer, MD, president and chiefmedical officer, Trinity

Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics.





Officials said the journey to implementation has been long, costly and

hard work, but is worth it.





“The Epic EHR is the portal and repository for all of the clinical work

done in our hospitals and clinics. This launch is the culmination of a

lot of time, effort and commitment. We are very excited that our

patients will now have this wonderful piece of technology,” said Tom

Hargrove, MD, chief medical information officer.



“Epic is the industry leader in sales and customer satisfaction in

health care information technology. It is a credit to our administration

and our board members that they were willing to commit to what I believe

is by far the best EHR system in the world,” said Jefpresident and chief information officer, Trinity Mother Frances

Hospitals and Clinics. “The independent survey rankings have Epic at the

top in most categories for EHR systems. Epic focuses on working with

physicians and clinicians to best understand how the patients are best

served and work to customize the system to deliver the best care

possible. Working with them has been a pleasure. We are ready to launch

on October 1 and give the public a completely new experience with their

healthcare at TMF.”





About The ConnectCARE Twittercast





What:            TMF Launches ConnectCARE on Twitter

When:            October 1, 7 a.m.

Why:            Tune in for real-time updates of the launch, including

Tweets, pics, video

How:            Follow TMF on Twitter at @TMFHC



AboutTrinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics



Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics includes The Louis and

Peaches Owen Heart Hospital, Mother Frances Hospital-Tyler, Mother

Frances Hospital-Jacksonville, Mother Frances Hospital-Winnsboro,

Trinity Mother Frances Rehabilitation Hospital, affiliated with

HealthSouth, Tyler ContinueCARE Hospital, a long-term acute care

facility, and Trinity Clinic. Trinity Clinic is the area's preferred

multispecialty medical group, with over 350 physicians and mid-level

providers representing 39 specialties in 36 clinic locations serving

East Texas. For more information on services available through Trinity

Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics, visit tmfhc.org.