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Juliana Reuter
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MU health clinics awarded top honor for advancing electronic medical records

HIMSS Analytics awarded MU Health Cares 44 outpatient clinics the highest

designation for electronic medical records: Stage 7. Only 1.16 percent of clinics in the
United States have reached Stage 7. Last year, the University Hospital received this
award.
MU Health Care teamed with the Tiger Institute for Health Innovation to make
this happen. The goal of improvement is ultimately to use information technology to
guarantee quality of health care and evaluate progress of the clinics.
HIMSS Analytics has a large number of requirements a health system must meet
to be awarded Stage 7. Some of the things the MU Health Care clinics did to make this
happen are:

E-prescribing medical prescriptions to pharmacies

Creating an online portal for patients to view their medical records

Giving all people who deal with patients (pharmacists, physicians, nurses, etc.)
immediate and up-to-date medical information on each patient

Using computers to alert physicians of problems with a patient, like allergies

Weve made it a point to strive for the top because its the best thing to do for our
patients. This provides an extra level of care because we can get access to patient records
anywhere, Colin Planalp said. Planalp is the media coordinator for the MU Health Care
system.