FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2011
Media Contacts:
Cedric Yamanaka
The Queen’s Medical Center
(808) 691-4975
Shawn Nakamoto
Hawai‘i Pacific Health
(808) 535-7345
THE QUEEN’S MEDICAL CENTER AND HAWAI‘I PACIFIC
HEALTH ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO IMPROVE
PATIENT CARE
New Technologies Provide Better Patient Care Between Systems
HONOLULU – Hawai‘i Pacific Health and The Queen’s Medical Center have entered
into an agreement to work together to improve patient care through the electronic sharing
of patient health information between hospitals.
Both Hawai‘i Pacific Health and The Queen’s Medical Center use an electronic medical record
(EMR) system developed by Epic Systems Corporation. Through the use of this technology,
doctors at Queen’s and all four of Hawai‘i Pacific Health’s hospitals – Kapi‘olani Medical
Center for Women and Children, Straub Clinic & Hospital, Pali Momi Medical Center and
Wilcox Memorial Hospital (Kaua‘i) are able to collaborate electronically to provide better
coordinated patient care.
Physicians from any of these hospitals can electronically share important patient health
information for treatment purposes via a secure, virtual electronic medical record so patients
receive the best possible care no matter where they are treated. Crucial information--such as the
patient's medical history, previous diagnoses, lab tests, medications and allergies--is quickly
available for the provision of timely, appropriate care.
Emergency room physicians at Wilcox Memorial Hospital, Straub Clinic & Hospital and
Queen’s are finding great success in sharing patient health information. According to Dr. Erik
Schumacher, an emergency medicine physician at Wilcox Memorial Hospital, “This technology
provides critical insight into a patient’s medical history more rapidly than might otherwise be
possible, enabling faster, safer and overall, more effective care.”
“We are already seeing positive results,” says Dr. Jonathan Kaufmann, a Hospitalist at The
Queen’s Medical Center. “By working together and utilizing this new technology, The Queen’s
Medical Center and Hawai‘i Pacific Health will save time for our patients, improve our ability to
provide quality care to our patients, and decrease repeat testing for our patients.”
“In an emergency room, time is of the essence, especially for critically ill patients,” said Dr.
William Sandusky, an emergency medicine physician at Straub Clinic & Hospital. “Having
immediate access to a patient’s medical record enables our team to provide the best care possible
because we can see the patient’s medical history, lab results and medications. These are all
important factors that doctors need to determine the appropriate treatment for a patient."
“Your health information may be stored at many different locations,” said Hunter Praywell, vice
president and chief information officer for The Queen’s Health Systems. “If you have a
treatment or test at one facility, a doctor at another location might not have this information.
Health care providers can make better decisions about your care when they know about your
medical history, lab test results, allergies, medicines, and other reports. Access to health
information saves patients and their health care team both time and costs and improves the
quality of care.”
Patient privacy is a priority and essential, and controls are in place to limit access to the shared
electronic health information to those caring for the patient. In addition, patients may choose to
opt out of this process or require that consent be obtained for each release of information.
“This new collaboration between our hospitals and Queen’s is the first step toward a statewide
effort to link all hospitals via electronic medical records so that patients, wherever they may
receive their treatment in Hawai‘i, are getting the appropriate treatment for their condition. The
Hawai‘i Health Information Exchange is tasked with this effort and recently received a $5.6
million grant to develop this system beginning in 2012,” said Steve Robertson, executive vice
president and chief information officer for Hawai‘i Pacific Health.
“The ability to share information through this partnership or the Hawai‘i Health Information
Exchange is consistent with the nation-wide effort to improve patient care and reduce health
costs while ensuring the confidentiality of the information is maintained,” he continued.
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The Queen’s Medical Center is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation, acute care medical facility accredited by The Joint Commission. The facility
houses 505 acute beds and 28 sub-acute beds and is widely known for its programs in cancer, cardiovascular disease, neuroscience, orthopaedics,
surgery, emergency medicine and trauma, and behavioral medicine. Queen’s is home to a number of residency programs offered in conjunction
with the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii. Queen’s has achieved Magnet® status – the highest institutional honor
for hospital excellence – from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Magnet recognition is held by six percent of hospitals in the United
States. Queen’s is the first hospital in Hawai‘i to achieve Magnet status. Learn more at: www.queens.org.
Hawai‘i Pacific Health is a nonprofit health care system and the state’s largest health care provider, committed to providing the highest quality
medical care and service to the people of Hawai‘i and the Pacific Region through its four hospitals, 49 outpatient clinics and service sites, and
more than 1,300 affiliated physicians. The system is anchored by its four nonprofit hospitals: Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children,
Pali Momi Medical Center, Straub Clinic & Hospital, and Wilcox Memorial Hospital. They have leading strategic initiatives in women’s health,
pediatric care, cardiovascular services, cancer care and bone and joint services. Hawai‘i Pacific Health ranks among the top 5 percent of hospitals
nationwide in the adoption of electronic medical records, with system-wide implementation that allows its hospitals and physicians to offer
integrated, coordinated care throughout the state. Learn more at: http://www.hawaiipacifichealth.org.