ALBANY – In the nearly seven months since Albany Medical Center launched its new electronic medical record (EMR) platform, Wilbur Hitt Jr., MD, with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said the transformation has been remarkable.
“We’re at a point of evolution,” said Dr. Hitt. “For both patients and providers, Epic and our new patient portal are much more user friendly.”
Albany Medical Center became the first hospital in the Albany Med Health System to launch Epic in March. Columbia Memorial Health, Glens Falls Hospital, and Saratoga Hospital will go live with the platform in early November, unifying the health system under a single EMR. The switch will connect patient records for inpatient and outpatient services throughout each hospital and offsite clinic, meaning that a patient’s information will be readily available at all locations throughout the System.
Epic also connects scheduling, registration, and billing, and introduces a new patient portal, MyChart. Through MyChart, patients have secure access to their health information, allowing them to easily schedule and manage their appointments, request prescription refills, complete pre-visit forms, message their doctor, view test results, and pay their bills. Patients can also read notes from their doctor, giving them a fuller picture of what they spoke about during a visit.