Dairyland Healthcare Solutions Creates First Electronic Medical Records in Rural Louisiana, Enabling ''Virtual House Calls'' for Thousands

GLENWOOD, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Reaching a milestone in its ongoing work with the Louisiana Rural Hospital Coalition (LARHC), Dairyland Healthcare Solutions said today that it has launched the first exchange of patient information between Delhi Hospital and Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) in Shreveport.

This event is part of a multi-year, state-sponsored initiative to provide electronic health records and telemedicine services to rural Louisiana residents whose communities were distressed by Hurricane Katrina. Working in collaboration with the LRHC, Dairyland is close to completing technology installations at four other rural hospitals in northern Louisiana. Dairyland is facilitating the creation of individual electronic medical records, enabling the delivery of telemedicine and other healthcare services to people who otherwise may not receive care when it is needed.

This initiative—which ultimately will connect all 44 LARHC members to LSU Health Sciences Centers and enable the electronic exchange of a patient’s medical record to provide data for real-time diagnosis and treatment—was made possible by funds appropriated in 2007 by the Louisiana Legislature. Former Senate President Dr. Don Hines and Representative Francis Thompson spearheaded the effort.

“In effect, this program will enable many thousands of people in these rural Louisiana communities to receive the equivalent of a ‘virtual house call’ from a highly trained specialist at LSU Health Science Center in Shreveport,” explained James Burgess, CEO of Dairyland. “Without electronic records, these individuals would have to travel hundreds of miles for specialized medical care. In addition, with so many paper medical records lost during Hurricane Katrina, we now have a way to make sure this never happens again. It’s a privilege to have Dairyland technology selected for this landmark work that is essential to healthcare delivery in rural Louisiana,” Burgess said.

As part of its work with rural hospitals, Dairyland is scanning and capturing as much individual patient data as possible from healthcare facilities where care was provided anywhere in the state. Initially, the information gathering will focus on the northern part of the state. Information will include the name/location of the facility providing care; tests that were conducted and the results of those tests.

Currently, Dairyland financial and clinical solutions are deployed or being installed in four of the first seven rural hospitals participating in this initiative. The company—which has been a major presence in small community and rural hospitals for nearly 30 years—provides a fully integrated suite of solutions that links patient, clinical and financial data and provides the information management infrastructure for sharing data within a hospital’s healthcare delivery system.

According to LARHC CIO Jamie Welch, “This project requires the aggregation and potential exchange of an enormous amount of data across many locations. We felt it was imperative to have technology partners who truly understand the unique challenges of rural hospitals and can work effectively and efficiently with this volume of data and number of sites,” she explained. “Dairyland’s experience makes them ideal for an initiative of this size and complexity.” she added.

Louisiana: Leading Edge in Healthcare IT

Louisiana is widely viewed as a pioneer in the adoption of advanced healthcare technologies. It is one of the few states that can claim a statewide RHIO (Regional Health Information Organization), as well as important healthcare IT advocates within the state’s legislature.

Hurricane Katrina effectively wiped out the medical records of tens of thousands of people living in the Louisiana Bayou, creating a near-crisis situation for those seeking medical care in Katrina’s aftermath. The loss of patient information—including social security numbers and blood type, for example—created safety concerns in providing emergency healthcare to people without even basic information.

Dr. Hines—who is a practicing physician in rural Louisiana— along with Francis Thompson, spearheaded the legislation ultimately resulted in a $13 million 2007 appropriation to assist rural hospitals implement electronic medical records. They both also helped to establish the Louisiana Rural Health Information Exchange (LARHIX) to provide an easy flow of patient data among rural hospitals, LSUHSC hospitals and physicians throughout the state.

About Dairyland Healthcare Solutions

Dairyland Healthcare Solutions is an award-winning healthcare information systems company that links essential information between small community hospitals and their healthcare delivery and business networks. Dairyland enables its hospital partners to deliver the highest level of patient care by providing the information infrastructure required to operate effectively in the dynamic and complex healthcare delivery environment. For almost three decades, Dairyland has partnered with leading community hospitals to help them improve efficiencies, enhance profitability and ensure patient safety by providing solutions to manage, integrate and access key financial, clinical and patient information. Dairyland is the only company to be awarded three consecutive “Best in KLAS” ratings in the Community Hospital Information Systems category. To learn more, visit: http://www.dhsnet.com .

About Louisiana Rural Hospital Coalition, Inc.

The Rural Hospital Coalition, Inc. (the Coalition) is a statewide 501(c)(6) trade organization limited to Louisiana's rural hospitals. Membership is limited to hospitals of 60 beds or less and/or serving parishes with populations of 65,000 or fewer residents. Since the Coalition's establishment on 1994, membership has steadily increased due to the focused approach on rural issues that directly affect member hospitals. Currently, the organization's membership consists of Louisiana's 44 small rural hospitals which are comprised of political subdivision hospitals, private non-profits and proprietary hospitals, all serving rural communities throughout the State.