Over the past nine months, employees of Franklin Memorial Hospital, in collaboration with our colleagues at MaineHealth, have been working hard to prepare for the launch of our new electronic health record called the Shared Electronic Health Record (SeHR). On March 2, we will go live with SeHR at Franklin Memorial Hospital, all Franklin Health medical practices, and our outpatient specialty clinics.
At Franklin Memorial Hospital, we believe that SeHR will improve patient care and the health of the communities we serve, and the benefits to our patients will be significant as outlined below.
- “One Patient, One Record,” will become a reality when SeHR is launched. No matter which MaineHealth facility you visit, your providers will have the most up-to-date information about your care.
- Health care providers in different locations will have a better opportunity to work together to create a cohesive care plan for your care since they can quickly share important patient information.
- There will be fewer forms for you to fill out as updated information appears in your electronic record instantly. When seeing a provider at Franklin Memorial Hospital or at any MaineHealth hospital, there will be no need to give a copy of your health care record to each provider you see.
- After the launch of SeHR you can sign up for MyChart to have 24/7 easy access to your health information from your computer, tablet, or smart phone. MyChart is a safe and secure online portal that allows you to take a more active role in your health care. Using MyChart, you can message your providers, view upcoming appointments, and request prescription renewals. MyChart also allows proxy access for children or elderly family members as needed.
- You will no longer need to have duplicate tests done as results from previous tests and lab work will be in your electronic record. This will save time, money, and worry.
While employees at Franklin Memorial Hospital in all areas have undergone significant training on this new system, we do anticipate that our patients may encounter some delays as we go live. We appreciate your patience and understanding during the first few weeks of March.
In closing, this is an important investment for our organization with a focus on our patients. With SeHR we will be more patient centered than ever before.
David Rice, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Franklin Memorial Hospital
Could you specify exactly which facilities come under “Maine Health” facilities? Does it include all Maine hospitals? CMMC? Or does it include only those in Franklin County?
Anstiss, that information can be found on the Maine Health website. https://mainehealth.org/locations.
It does not include ALL Maine hospitals, just those associated with Maine Health but the number of hospitals and providers is quite large.
MaineHealth.org shows 14 locations mostly Portland area. FMH only local one, no CMMC.
Besides Franklin Memorial, other MaineHealth hospitals would include: LincolnHealth Miles Campus, Maine Medical Center, Memorial Hospital in North Conway NH, Pen Bay Medical Center, Southern Maine Health Care, Waldo County General Hospital, and Western Maine Health (Stephen’s Memorial Hospital), and include all of their respective medical practices.
But a hard copy will still be kept, right? Because hardware crashes can and do happen and it would really suck if a patient’s entire medical history was lost because of it. Or dare I say, a data breech, because nothing is 100% safe, and being available across multiple devices and media, that is a massive network.
What a waste! of money. The only ones this benefits is the few that may end up at MMC in Portland.
Hartley bstrd they were already using an outdated electronic health records.
And old maniac this does benefit FMH patients because now the provider offices and the hospital will be connected. Right now they are using two different – not connected systems.
You won’t have to update your information with your PCP and with the hospital. You won’t have to give your insurance card to both.
@Dbcommenter…If a provider decides to spend the money to implement the new software.
OM – providers who are affiliated with MaineHealth will not incur cost.
All of the Franklin Memorial providers like internal med and family medicine are going live with this system on March 2 too.
So if your doctor in internal med orders labs and you gave your new insurance to them.. you won’t have to give it again at the hospital when you have your lab work.
What I appreciate is I have several specialists who are not at Farmington practices. For instance my Endocrinologist Is a Maine Health Dr affiliated with Maine Med . She sees patients in both Scarborough and Lewiston. Now, I don’t have to be sure my lab reports are sent to her and vice versa. Also, my PCP at Franklin Internal is now able to access the Endo’s notes about me as soon as they are written. My med list is always up to date. Traveling to see the Endo will be the same as going upstairs in the Medical Arts building to see the Orthopedic or anyone else in Farmington. So much easier. Less chance that information is going to fall through the cracks. Makes for more seamless care for the patient. And there is NO reason for any provider to claim I never saw the information.
My only concern with this new program is the amount of online identity theft. I see a news story I believe on Valentines day that said that medical records information breaches are up 40%. Hopefully they have taken appropriate steps to insure people’s records will be safe.
I think this can only be a good thing. Having ready access to a patients medical history without the time delay helps providers “not miss anything” and could be a life saver.