With four different EHR systems that couldn’t speak to each other, Unity Health System in Rochester, N.Y. needed to create a longitudinal view of the patient’s record. Instead of “rip and replace” it created an integrated health information exchange (HIE) that has enabled community-wide population health.
Despite its name, Unity Health System, in Rochester, N.Y., is somewhat divided.
As the third largest healthcare system in Rochester, it is home to a 346-bed single hospital with multiple departments and clinics, three nursing homes, about 70 remote sites—40 of which are physician practices— a home care facility, and a regional lab that has international ties. Thus, when it began down the path toward electronic health record (EHR) adoption, it was faced with disjointed systems and schedules.
