Decision by Green Mountain Care Board Supports High Quality Care
BURLINGTON, VT — The Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) has approved the implementation of a new electronic health record system (EHR) across four hospital affiliates of the University of Vermont Health Network, a significant step that will enhance the delivery of high quality care with instant access to a patient’s most updated medical information.
The new system will replace a patchwork of programs that do not communicate across hospital boundaries, often a barrier to providing the highest quality and coordinated care when patients receive treatment in multiple care settings. The project will use products from Epic Systems Corporation and cost $151.7 million over a six-year implementation period. UVM Health Network officials estimate replacing and maintaining the outdated systems currently in use would be significantly more expensive than installing the Epic system.
Hospitals participating in the project include the University of Vermont Medical Center, Central Vermont Medical Center, Porter Medical Center and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital. It’s expected that the Network’s other affiliates – Alice Hyde Medical Center, Elizabethtown Community Hospital and the Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties – will participate in the Epic system at a later date.
In addition to finding that the need for a shared EHR is clear, GMBC concluded the cost of the project is reasonable, and will improve the quality of health care in Vermont. The GMCB set forth a series of conditions to ensure timely and financially-prudent implementation, and is requiring measurement of the impact on quality of care and the administrative burden on providers. The Board also directed the system be designed to support provider and patient decision making.
“I appreciate the Board’s thoughtful review and approval of this necessary and important project,” said John Brumsted, M.D., president and CEO of the UVM Health Network and CEO of the UVM Medical Center. “We understand the Board’s desire to measure and monitor key aspects of the system’s implementation and operation, and we look forward to keeping them updated on those and other factors.”
About The University of Vermont Health Network
The University of Vermont Health Network is a six-hospital system serving the residents of Vermont and northern New York with a shared mission: working together, we improve people’s lives. The partners are:
- The University of Vermont Medical Center
- The University of Vermont Health Network Medical Group
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Elizabethtown Community Hospital
- The University of Vermont Health Network – Porter Medical Center
Our 4,000 health care professionals are driven to provide high-quality, cost-efficient care as close to home as possible. Strengthened by our academic connection to the University of Vermont, each of our hospitals remains committed to its local community by providing compassionate, personal care shaped by the latest medical advances and delivered by highly skilled experts.