St. Dominic Hospital and Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center to Partner on Electronic Medical Record
July 11, 2022
Health System Experience Advances Patient Access with EPIC software
Jackson, MS — Today, St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson and Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center (SMRMC) in McComb announced a formal agreement to share the same electronic medical record delivered through the integrated EPIC platform. EPIC is one of the nation’s largest electronic medical record software securely linking real-time, personalized diagnostic, treatment, and continuing care data for each patient. Because St. Dominic Hospital is a member of the multi-state Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System (FMOLHS), Southwest Mississippi will also have full access to the benefits of the health system’s integrated software.
“St. Dominic’s has been a long-time neighbor to Southwest Health, and we’ve worked together on many collaborations for stroke, cardiovascular services and more,” said Jackson Market President, Scott Kashman. “Supporting providers in central Mississippi allows patients and their physicians to maximize connectivity and medical resources while keeping patients in the McComb community. Technology has proven we can assure the right care at the right time completely customized to each patient’s need and clinical situation.”
With this historic agreement, FMOLHS will collaboratively work with SMRMC physicians and leadership to install and implement the EPIC software. The collective goal is to improve care coordination, patient registration, scheduling and clinical integration, while also streamlining the financial and billing processes. Central to the EPIC model is patient access and participation in their personal health information using the robust patient portal, MyChart. Through this secure online tool, patients can easily schedule appointments, communicate with their doctors, request prescription refills, and view visit summaries, lab and imaging results from the convenience of a laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
“Southwest Health has enjoyed a successful partnership with St. Dominic’s for many years on a number of service lines. With the addition of Epic software through this agreement, we can provide our physicians a product they want and need to ease their day-to-day integration of electronic medical records,” said Southwest Health CEO Charla Rowley. “Easing their ability to communicate more with patients and create more personalized care data for each patient here at home is our goal.”
“As a Medical Center, we are excited to transition to the Epic electronic medical record platform,” Chief Medical Officer Kevin Richardson, M.D. added. “This integrated system will allow us to access critical data at the point of care and improve communication among members of the healthcare team.”
Planning and implementation of the EPIC platform at SMRMC is expected to take one year.
About Southwest Health
Southwest Health is an integrated healthcare delivery network serving residents of Southwest Mississippi and beyond since 1969. The organization is comprised of Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center (Southwest Regional), Cardiovascular Institute of Mississippi, Mississippi Cancer Institute, SMRMC Ambulatory Surgery Center, St. Luke Home Health & Hospice, SMRMC Digestive Diseases Center, Southwest Center for Rehabilitation, Southwest Regional Women’s Center Maternity Suites, Family Practice/Internal Medicine Clinics and Lawrence County Hospital. As one of the most comprehensive healthcare resources in Southwest Mississippi, Southwest Regional is a modern facility with 165 licensed beds offering advanced equipment and a broad range of services to its patients, including a Level II Trauma Center. Southwest Regional is a member of the Mississippi Hospital Association (MHA), American Hospital Association (AHA), and the Voluntary Hospitals of America, Inc. (VHA), and is accredited by DNV Healthcare, Inc. Southwest Regional is the hub of the total complement of healthcare services provided by Southwest Health System. The System has 1,071 employees with a payroll of $67 million. For more information, please visit www.smrmc.com and follow us on Facebook.
About the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System
The Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System is one of the largest healthcare systems based in Louisiana and is the leading healthcare provider for more than half the state’s population. The health system is a non-profit, Catholic organization sponsored by the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady. Headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the ministry serves patients in Louisiana and Mississippi through a network of hospitals, clinics, physicians and integrated health systems. The health system’s unified physician organization is comprised of more than 1,100 adult and pediatric primary care physicians and specialists. The system’s nine main campus hospitals include St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge and Gonzales, Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, Heart Hospital, and Women's & Children's Hospital in Lafayette, Our Lady of the Angels in Bogalusa, and St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi. For more information, visit fmolhs.org.