MEDHOST Launches OpCenter to Address Inpatient Throughput and Operational Issues at the Executive Level

ADDISON, Texas – Feb. 9, 2010 – MEDHOST, provider of leading EDIS and healthcare throughput solutions, today announced the launch of OpCenter, its new executive decision support software solutions. OpCenter addresses inpatient flow and bed management issues by providing executives with reliable, real-time information so they can make informed decisions about how to dramatically improve their hospital’s operations and increase patient satisfaction.

“The healthcare climate continues to demand that hospitals do more with less, while providing safer and more cost-effective care,” said Ron Short, vice president of operations at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview, Texas, which beta-tested OpCenter. “OpCenter’s powerful data allows us to meet these industry demands by enabling us to better manage admissions and efficiently move patients through the care process. Overall, MEDHOST’s OpCenter has positively changed the way we operate and how we deliver patient care.”

Much of the backlog in the ED is not related to ED patient flow, but instead is caused by systemic issues that delay moving patients from the ED to inpatient floors. With 60 percent of admits coming from the ED, these in-house delays can drive up ED wait times and ultimately lead to decreased patient satisfaction. MEDHOST created OpCenter to provide healthcare executives with a real-time view of their hospital’s health, so they can proactively identify, understand and address their hospital pain points before they become unmanageable.

MEDHOST leveraged Microsoft Silverlight™ technology to create OpCenter’s rich user experience. OpCenter pulls reliable data from MEDHOST’s Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) and seamlessly integrates with other hospital systems, giving executives real-time access to critical information, such as incoming admissions, patient acuity and hospital bed saturation levels. OpCenter’s robust information allows executives to gain a better understanding of their hospital’s needs so they can better utilize the resources available to avoid delays in patient care and improve throughput.

Executives at Tomball Regional Medical Center, another OpCenter beta Customer, found that they could improve throughput by using the actionable information from OpCenter’s executive summaries. The hospital also leveraged OpCenter’s Bed Ahead feature to streamline the admission process and significantly decrease wait times.

“OpCenter has truly revolutionized the admit process at Tomball. We utilize the Bed Ahead feature to alert our inpatient floor of incoming admissions, and as a result, we have reduced our admit turnaround times by 30 minutes,” said Lynn LeBouef, CEO at Tomball Regional Medical Center. “A patient’s experience in the ED sets the tone for the rest of their stay and often determines if they will return to our hospital for their future care needs. OpCenter helps us to avoid the issues that impede patient satisfaction and affect market share, but most important, MEDHOST’s OpCenter enables us to focus on why we’re in healthcare – to care for patients.”

OpCenter features that improve throughput and house-wide visibility include:

• Automatic Mobile Alerts – Automatic notifications when thresholds are exceeded so that the right people get critical information on their mobile devices when it matters most;
• Bed Ahead – Manage the admission process by giving inpatient caregivers advance notice of pending and possible admissions;
• House Census – At-a-glance status of hospital bed availability, pending discharges, departmental saturation and more.