Little Rock, AR September 2019
Health care providers in Baxter County and surrounding northern communities in Arkansas and Missouri continue to securely access patient health records from Baxter Regional Medical Center (BRMC) located in Mountain Home, Arkansas through SHARE, Arkansas’ only statewide health information exchange (HIE). The data sharing builds a more complete medical record for communities and individuals. With the connection to the HIE, it results in fewer repeated tests, better diagnosis and monitoring of chronic conditions and a more comprehensive patient health record.
Hospitals carry a large proportion of the burden to reduce the cost of care. They must find strategies to reduce or avoid unnecessary hospitalizations and eliminate the over-utilization of emergency room services, cutting costs, and focusing on patients with a truly emergent need. Access to comprehensive health information is necessary to overcome these challenges. Having access to robust health data in SHARE offers insights that can be used to flag medication use and abuse, identify gaps in care management, enable the development of comprehensive discharge plans, and increase the odds the patient will receive consistent follow-up care in an outpatient setting.
SHARE understands that hospitals must find strategies to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations and over-utilization of emergency rooms, in order to cut costs and focus their efforts and resources on patients with the highest need. In order to achieve this, BRMC is using SHARE’s 30-day readmission notifications of when their patient was discharged from their facility and then admitted at another connected hospital within 30 days.
The continued collaboration with BRMC reflects that coordinated care is expanding across a much wider spectrum of facilities. BRMC that serves Arkansas and Missouri communities. They are committed to delivering efficient and effective health care with a hometown touch. SHARE supports the physician-patient relationship while providing critical, timely clinical data that promotes quality health care, identification of health disparities, health care transparency and health care access to support patient care and physician-patient relationships.
Sharing timely clinical patient information, such as admission, discharge and transfer information (ADTs), lab results, radiology results, progress notes, medications, immunizations and discharge summaries among physicians outside of the hospital with disparate electronic health record (EHR) systems relies upon a connection to an HIE. Through the connection with Baxter Regional Medical Center, HIE participants can access patient data where the patient received care. Sharing of this timely information will improve clinical outcomes, reduce inefficiencies and improve patient safety.
SHARE’s approach uniquely positions it to help physicians, other health care providers, integrated delivery networks, accountable care organizations, and others seeking to improve patient outcomes. Patients benefit from fewer repeated tests, missing records and errors, while receiving more informed care during office visits and emergencies.
About Baxter Regional Medical Center:
Over the years, Baxter Regional Medical Center has quietly and efficiently built a national reputation for quality health care and advanced medical technology. That reputation and the quality community has attracted highly trained, specialized and experienced physicians to make Mountain Home their home. Baxter Regional Medical Center is a 268-bed tertiary care hospital serving a population of 185,000 in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. Their medical staff consists of over 100 physicians representing more than 30 medical specialties. Located in the majestic Ozark Mountains, Mountain Home is known for its beauty and is an outdoor enthusiast's recreational haven. Two lakes, three rivers, and four seasons contribute to a quality of life unique to this area. With a low cost of living, low crime rate, and nationally recognized school system, this is a family friendly community.
Their state-of-the-art health care services include, but are not limited to:
- Cancer care
- Cardiac services
- Open-heart surgery
- Breast Imaging Center
- Physical rehabilitation
- Diabetes management
- Partial knee replacements
- Pain management services
- Outpatient Primary Care Clinics
Baxter Regional Medical Center is home to the following clinics: Baxter Regional Ahrens Clinic, Baxter Regional Bone and Joint Clinic, Baxter Regional Comprehensive Women's Clinic, Baxter Regional Heart Clinic, Baxter Regional Urology Clinic, Baxter Regional Family Clinic, Baxter Regional Family Clinic on Market, BRMC Gastroenterology and Advanced Imaging, BRMC Medical Specialists, BRMC Nephrology/Pulmonology Clinic, BRMC Neurosurgery and Spine Clinic, Fairlamb Senior Health Clinic, Baxter Regional APRN Clinic, BRHS Hometown Clinic at Calico Rock, BRHS Hometown Clinic at Melbourne, BRHS Hometown Clinic at Mountain View, BRHS Hometown Clinic at West Plains, Baxter Regional Wound Healing Center, Interventional Pain Management, Hospice of the Ozarks and Mruk Family Center on Aging.
Learn more about BRMC: https://www.baxterregional.org/
