PLANO, Texas—Slidell Memorial Hospital (SMH), located in Slidell, La., will implement the emergency department information system (EDIS) from MEDHOST, provider of leading healthcare throughput and emergency department software, to enable electronic documentation of patient data in its new emergency department (ED). MEDHOST’s EDIS will also help the 182-bed hospital streamline processes and enhance patient care in the ED, where, as the front door of the hospital, patient care and the patient experience often begins.

Hospital leadership and ED clinicians studied and scored several aspects of multiple solutions; MEDHOST’s EDIS was chosen for its ease-of-use, proven clinician adoption and touch-screen technology. The selection team also saw the benefits of the system’s graphical ED floor plan, including how it would help enhance workflow and staff communication. This was important to SMH as the hospital is finalizing construction of its new ED, which will be more than twice the size of its current facility to help accommodate growing ED volumes.

“We sought a solution created specifically for the ED so it would seamlessly fit our ED processes. MEDHOST’s EDIS is not only designed to work how clinicians work, but it is scalable so it can grow as we expand. As our ED volumes continue to increase year over year, it was essential that we prepare for our future volumes,” said Tania Loumiet, director emergency services for Slidell Memorial Hospital. “Our staff works diligently every day to provide the highest quality care possible, and the MEDHOST EDIS will complement our efforts and help us meet our patient care, satisfaction and safety goals.”

The hospital also found value in the system’s flexibility, rich data capture and reporting functionality.

“The administrative ToolKit in the MEDHOST EDIS allows for easy modifications, which will enable us to directly make changes to the software and keep up with the growing and ever-changing needs of the ED,” said Holly Sanchez, director of IT applications for Slidell Memorial Hospital. “Additionally, with the vast amount of data that the MEDHOST EDIS collects, we can produce reports for Meaningful Use and other regulatory requirements and better evaluate ED operations. This gives us the ability to make data-driven decisions and promote a more positive customer experience.”

SMH will also implement MEDHOST’s ED Pass, a self-service kiosk that allows ED patients to check-in and identify why they are in need of emergency care. ED Pass helps expedite registration and gives clinicians visibility into the waiting room so they can screen for high-risk patients.

“Our new, state-of-the-art ED was designed with a focus on patient safety, confidentiality and efficiency, much like the MEDHOST EDIS. We see MEDHOST’s EDIS and ED Pass solutions playing a large role in our efforts to streamline processes and ensure patients receive the best care possible,” said Sam Caruso, Jr., director of business development at Slidell Memorial Hospital. “In addition, because MEDHOST is quite agile, we were able to kick off implementation rather quickly so we could have the EDIS in place when our new ED opens. That was really important to us.”

SMH’s new ED, which will have 31 beds, will be the largest ED on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. It is scheduled to open in August of this year.

“Slidell Memorial Hospital’s new ED exemplifies how the hospital is truly focused on patient care,” said Craig Herrod, president of MEDHOST. “We share Slidell Memorial Hospital’s commitment to safe, efficient and quality care and look forward to working closely with them as they transition to an electronic ED system and into their new ED.”

About MEDHOST

MEDHOST is dedicated to advancing healthcare IT by developing user-friendly software solutions that improve hospital-wide operations, emergency department care, patient flow, surgery and anesthesia care cycles, financial performance and patient care, safety and satisfaction. Its intuitive, easy-to-use solutions align with end-user workflow. MEDHOST, headquartered in Plano, Texas, is part of HealthTech, a health information technology company with a family of brands that also includes Healthcare Management Systems (HMS) and Patient Logic.