Just 20 years ago, all if not most hospitals ran on paper — paper admission forms, paper histories and physicals, paper medical records, paper patient documentation, paper results. In addition to handwriting legibility issues, paper can be lost, damaged, and misinterpreted. It presents challenges of storage, accessibility and the ability to simultaneously share data regardless of location.

With the advent of information technology (IT), many of these issues can be ameliorated or eliminated. Now all-digital hospitals, such as OhioHealth's Dublin Methodist hospital, create or electronically capture the delivery of care in IT systems. These systems reach into every department within the hospital – from the emergency department to the lab, and to other settings of care – from the physician office to hospice care.

IT provides many areas of benefit:

  Patient Safety — Discrete, consistent data enables rules, alerts
    and decision support to improve the quality of care.

  Medication Safety — Automating the medication process from the
    loading dock to the pharmacy to the bedside can prevent errors.

  Disease Management — Patient monitoring and education solutions
    help improve the health outcomes and costs of chronic diseases.

  Revenue Cycle Performance — IT improves the business of care
    delivery by streamlining the revenue cycle and regulatory compliance.

  Connected Healthcare — Online services can connect the physician
    to other physicians for collaboration, the hospital for results, the
    patient for webVisits^® and communication, the pharmacy for
    e-prescribing, and the payor for transactions.

  Workforce Management — Automated staff scheduling solutions
    can reduce agency costs and increase staff satisfaction via
    Web self-scheduling.

  Physician Alignment — Automating the physician office with
    an electronic health record can connect it to the hospital and
    other physicians.

  Anytime, Anywhere Access to Patient Data — Real-time data is
    simultaneously accessible from inside and outside the hospital via
    clinical portals.

A multiple-hospital study of clinical information technologies and inpatient outcomes printed in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol. 169 (No. 2), Jan. 26, 2009, found that for certain conditions, a properly designed IT system implemented to support clinical workflows may be associated with "reductions in mortality, complications, and costs."

For these reasons, it is not coincidental that a cornerstone of the healthcare reform effort is embodied by the availability of $19 billion in economic stimulus funds for healthcare IT. The government is promoting information technology not only as a means to improve care outcomes, but the efficiencies of care.

McKesson recognizes the power of IT to improve performance with its yearly VIP Awards. These awards honor our customers for their commitment to excellence in Vision, Innovation and Performance. A panel of independent judges selected these customers in recognition of their application of IT in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the care they deliver to their communities. This issue of Performance Strategies highlights the achievements of these customers in gaining the value of their IT.

  Bloomington Hospital leveraged information technology to transform
    what was a disparate collection of departments into a truly integrated,
    patient-centric delivery model. In the process, the health system
    significantly improved safety, coordination and access to information
    across the continuum of care.

  Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare projects that the financial benefits
    from implementing a broad range of solutions to support an electronic
    health record will top more than $70 million over a five-year period.

  Baptist Healthcare System used analytics to create not only a path to
    improved patient safety and superior outcomes, but a means for
    meeting the challenges of competition and government reporting
    standards. All five Baptist hospitals have fully met CMS quality-of-care
    reporting standards to win the full CMS Annual Payment Update —
    representing more than $40 million for the organization.

  OhioHealth created a culture that relies heavily on technology for
    end-to-end medication safety. The organization identified best
    practices and standardized processes, and used the power of IT
    to improve patient safety via a closed-loop medication system.

  Affinity deployed sophisticated call center technology
    to create a tobacco cessation program that's helping tobacco users
    "Call it Quits." The program has resulted in fewer adults and teens
    smoking or using tobacco products, enabling Affinity to play a
    central role in creating a healthier community.

Information technology systems do not deliver better healthcare by themselves. But by reducing paper processes, helping standardize care and workflow, and enabling delivery of actionable data to caregivers at the point of care, IT supports healthcare providers in providing more efficient and effective healthcare.

The tenth anniversary in 2009 of the Institute of Medicine Report, "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System," is a reminder that we must all continue to strive to improve the quality, safety and cost of healthcare. McKesson will do its part by providing IT solutions that automate healthcare processes regardless of setting and connect physicians, patients and providers with the information they need, when they need it.

Sunny Sanyal has overall leadership responsibility for McKesson Provider Technologies. As president, he oversees all products within the health systems, ambulatory, imaging and pharmacy automation market segments. Sanyal holds responsibility for the product development, implementation services, customer support, sales, and marketing functions for all these segments. Sanyal brings to his position more than 20 years of experience in healthcare information technology. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the National Alliance for Health Information Technology and an advisory board member for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Board of Directors.

	In the current economic environment, it is important to take advantage of every opportunity to supplement your capital and operating budgets. With the focus on patient safety and healthcare reform, government and foundation grants are additional funding sources to help you advance key programs that may include the implementation of information technology. McKesson provides a complimentary service to assist its customers in identifying federal, state and local grant and institutional funding sources that support their strategic initiatives. The service includes:   A review of customer initiatives to see if they match     current funding categories, such as meaningful use of     electronic health records, medication safety, CPOE and     disease management.   A research report of the funding opportunities specific to     your initiative and organization   Assistance in determining which grants provide the best     prospects for success. If you are interested in learning more, contact your McKesson representative or e-mail GIFTOffice@McKesson.com