Electronic health records – Now available as a service through HPE GreenLake

[HPE_Experts]

Healthcare IT is looking for innovative ways to fortify the EHR IT foundation and simplify operations. What options should you be considering?

 By Tracy Siclair, HPE Senior Content Strategist

I meet with my doctor with concerns about a pain in my abdomen. She determines I need to visit a specialist, who then does an ultrasound and diagnoses ovarian cysts. The cysts need to be removed, so outpatient surgery is scheduled. Surgery is a success but I need some medication for pain. Finally make it home for rest and recovery...zzzzzzzz. And it all happened in just one day!

Now imagine experiencing all this 10 years ago when paper charts were utilized. Imagine the challenges providers went through to ensure all my medical records were shared to the various clinicians throughout my journey. A nightmare is what it would have been, not to mention the increased probability for errors.  And when it comes to my health (and yours) errors are not acceptable.

EHR to the rescue

The breakthroughs today in healthcare integration can largely be attributed to the introduction of the Electronic Health Record (EHR). The first EHR was introduced in the 1960s; however, these systems were not widely adopted until the 1990s when the Internet and regulations were more fully incorporated. EHR adoption was brought to the forefront by the Affordable Care Act in 2010. In the fast-paced world we live in today, EHRs are a necessity, with nearly 90% of hospitals across the country using EHR systems in 2018.¹

While the vast majority of health systems have implemented EHRs, healthcare IT organizations are still looking for innovative ways to fortify the EHR IT foundation by simplifying operations, increasing efficiency to deliver care faster, and reducing the total cost of ownership.  High expectations, but shouldn’t they be?  This is patients’ health, wellness and lives we’re talking about here!

One of the main roadblocks when it comes to implementing an effective EHR is the severe shortage of resources and budgets. The sheer volume of digital medical records and images, the unpredictability of growth, and the increasing complexity of patient data put a strain on IT resources. But the demands from clinicians are escalating just as quickly. While public cloud options look attractive on the surface, complexities arise around data sovereignty, security, and privacy regulations. Not to mention the fact that the cost of public cloud can quickly add up with data egress and transfer fees, as well as overprovisioning.

An as-a-service approach to EHR 

Healthcare IT organizations can meet these demands by adopting an as a service approach. HPE GreenLake for Healthcare can help you on every step of your journey to improve healthcare delivery. By utilizing HPE GreenLake consumption-based services, organizations can achieve:

• 75% faster time to market, leading to quicker access to data and response times for speedier decision making in critical situations
• 30-40% CAPEX savings, accelerating digital innovation while paying for IT resources only as they are consumed
• 40% IT resource savings by reducing the time IT personnel spend on routine management tasks.²

HPE has introduced an as-a-service offering for the leading EHR vendor, Epic Systems.  (Read about how you can run Epic workloads with HPE GreenLake) As a matter of fact, 65% of Epic customers use HPE infrastructure, and we are the only infrastructure vendor delivering end-to-end converged medical infrastructure to Epic healthcare providers.  By jointly working on testing and validations in the labs, we are able to deliver a reliable solution by the time it hits your hospitals, ready to support your EHR 7x24x356 operations. 

Why is an as-a-service approach beneficial to running your Epic workloads?

Let’s revert to my previous statement: “Healthcare IT is still looking for innovative ways to fortify the EHR IT foundation by simplifying operations, increasing efficiency to deliver care faster, and reducing the total cost of ownership.”  Now, with cloud services from HPE GreenLake, we can check, check, check all the boxes and deliver on the high expectations we all desire and deserve.

Achieving zero downtime -- even during a crisis like COVID-19

Here’s a great example of an organization that met very high expectations with HPE GreenLake. Not many health systems would have chosen to execute an integration project in 2020, while going through a pandemic. However, Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) was faced with the need to do exactly that, and rallied to the challenge.  (Check out this video to learn how they did it: Maintaining high quality patient care with HPE GreenLake).

COVID-19 hit our organization very hard. But any additional features we needed to activate, we were able to do that without any delays.

MVHS combined four disparate EHR systems into one, running on a consumption-based infrastructure model.  With the flexibility and agility to respond to emerging healthcare needs, MVHS is reaching 100% uptime during one of healthcare’s most challenging times and has been able to reduce capital spending, allowing them to build and grow as needed. According to Ed Hildreth, Manager of IT Distributed Systems for MVHS, "COVID-19 hit our organization very hard, but any additional features we needed to activate, we were able to do that without any delays."

A win-win for providers and patients

While the days of paper charts are in the rear view mirror, advancements in EHR applications continue to showcase what is possible to achieve higher quality patient care in a cost-effective manner. As technologists continue to find ways to improve this experience for the medical staff, we as patients reap the benefits. A win-win for all.

To learn more about HPE GreenLake cloud services – the cloud that comes to wherever you apps and data live – visit https://www.hpe.com/greenlake

Learn more about HPE GreenLake for Healthcare.

1. See this GlobeNewswire press release

2. The Total Economic Impact of HPE GreenLake, Forrester Research, June 2020

Tracy Siclair has worked for HPE for 24 years in various positions, all geared towards providing a better customer experience.  She has a passion for thinking out-of-the-box and finding innovative ways to share commercial insights. When she's not on a computer for work, she enjoys watching her kids play sports,  as well as photography, videography, and the occasional game of billiards. Tracy resides in beautiful Fort Collins, Colorado.

HPE Experts
Hewlett Packard Enterprise

twitter.com/hpe
linkedin.com/company/hewlett-packard-enterprise
hpe.com